In vascular systems, macrophages can engulf circulating oxidized (ox) low-density lipoprotein (LDL), leading to the accumulation of intracellular lipid droplets, which forms foam cells. Macrophage-derived foam cells are an important therapeutic target for atherosclerosis. However, quantifying intracellular lipid droplets in macrophages is difficult. The purpose of this study was to use high-content screening (HCS) and fluorescence staining to analyze and quantify accumulation of intracellular lipid droplets in macrophages. A murine macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 was seeded in a 96-well black plate and treated with ox-LDL. After fixation, the cells were stained with the lipophilic and nuclear fluorescent dyes briefly. The number and mean fluorescence intensity of the intracellular lipid droplets in the macrophages were detected by an HCS reader. Using HCS to quantify lipid droplets in macrophages could be applied for antiatherogenic drug discovery, and its sensitivity is much higher than that of oil red O staining.

中文翻译：

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通过高内涵筛选对巨噬细胞中氧化的低密度脂蛋白诱导的脂质液滴的分析和定量：抗动脉粥样硬化药物发现的应用。

在血管系统中，巨噬细胞会吞噬循环的氧化（ox）低密度脂蛋白（LDL），导致细胞内脂质小滴积聚，形成泡沫细胞。巨噬细胞源性泡沫细胞是动脉粥样硬化的重要治疗靶标。但是，难以定量巨噬细胞中的细胞内脂质滴。这项研究的目的是使用高含量筛选（HCS）和荧光染色来分析和量化巨噬细胞中细胞内脂质小滴的积累。将鼠巨噬细胞系RAW 264.7接种在96孔黑色平板中，并用ox-LDL处理。固定后，将细胞用亲脂性和核荧光染料短暂染色。通过HCS读取器检测巨噬细胞中的细胞内脂质滴的数量和平均荧光强度。