Immunohistochemical Evidence of Oncogene Products in Lipid-rich Aortic Lesions in Japanese Quail

Abstract

Lipid-rich lesions were produced in the ascending aorta of Japanese quail 3 months after feeding an atherogenic diet containing 2% cholesterol and 15% corn oil.
Histologically and electron microscopically, major cellular component of the thickened intima was fibroblast-like cells with or without lipid droplets. Immunoperoxidase method showed that products of myc and src oncogenes were strongly positive for proliferating intimal fibroblast-like cells and negative for fibroblast-like cells of the tunica media. These results suggest possible regulatory roles of oncogenes on intimal cell proliferation.