抄録
Transformation of macrophages into foam cells after the uptake of cholesterol oleate anisotropic liquid crystals was studied. A new technique to enhance the uptake of the liquid crystals by macrophages using an inverted petri dish was developed. Uptake of lipid droplets was found to increase in parallel with the amount of liquid crystals in the medium. A lysosomal enzyme was shown with lysosomotropic chloroquine to be involved in the hydrolysis of the liquid crystals. The 50% clearance time of the liquid crystals by the macrophages was about 24h, which was longer than that of denatured lipoprotein. The present model is useful for study of cholesterol ester accumulation and hydrolysis in macrophages.
