title: Early atherosclerotic lesions in infancy: role of parental cigarette smoking.
abstract: Cigarette smoking is associated with an increased incidence of atherosclerotic diseases. The aim of this study was to examine the progression of the pre atherosclerotic lesions previously observed by us in coronary arteries of fetuses of smoker mothers and in infants with smoker parents. We examined the coronary arteries of 34 infants, aged 1-36 months, and the histological and biological [c-fos, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and apoptosis] features of the early atherosclerotic lesions. In 17 infants (50%), at least one parent smoked, generally more than five cigarettes a day. In 18 cases (53%), we observed variable thickening of the coronary walls from pre-atherosclerotic lesions to juvenile atherosclerotic plaques, related to parental smoking habit. This morphological progression of the lesions was accompanied by a sequence of biological changes in the smooth muscle cells of the tunica media. We suggest that the oxidants present in the gas phase of the parental cigarette smoke pass through the endothelium and induce at first the c-fos gene activation and subsequently the PCNA positivity, that is, a proliferative process.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, Lino Rossi Research Center for the Study and Prevention of Unexpected Perinatal Death (of term fetus-stillbirth- and neonatal) and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), University of Milan, Milan, Italy. luigi.matturi@unimi.it
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Matturri
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ottaviani
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lavezzi
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018812:Paternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / Q000096:biosynthesis; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos