INTRODUCTION The baboon is a well-characterized model of human early stage atherosclerosis. However, histological and morphological changes involved in atherogenesis in baboons are not known. Previously, we challenged baboons with a high-cholesterol, high-fat diet for two years and observed fatty streak and plaque lesions in iliac arteries (RCIA). METHODS We evaluated histological and morphological changes of baboon arterial lesions and control arteries. In addition, we evaluated the vascular expression of CD68 and SMαA markers with progression of atherosclerosis. RESULTS We observed changes that correlated with extent of atherosclerosis, including increased maximum intimal thickness. We demonstrated at molecular level the infiltration of smooth muscle cells and macrophages into the intimal layer. Further, we observed histological and morphological discordancy between the affected and adjacent areas of the same RCIA. CONCLUSION Atherogenesis in baboons is accompanied by histological, morphological, and molecular changes, as in humans, providing insights to evaluate the mechanisms underlying early stage atherosclerosis in target tissues.

中文翻译：

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高胆固醇，高脂饮食长期挑战后狒狒早期动脉粥样硬化病变的组织学变化。

引言狒狒是人类早期动脉粥样硬化的一个特征鲜明的模型。但是，尚不知道狒狒中动脉粥样硬化的组织学和形态学变化。以前，我们用高胆固醇，高脂肪的饮食挑战狒狒两年，并观察到动脉的脂肪条纹和斑块病变。方法我们评估了狒狒动脉病变和对照动脉的组织学和形态学变化。此外，我们评估了动脉粥样硬化进展过程中CD68和SMαA标记的血管表达。结果我们观察到与动脉粥样硬化程度相关的变化，包括最大内膜厚度的增加。我们在分子水平上证明了平滑肌细胞和巨噬细胞向内膜层的浸润。进一步，我们观察到同一RCIA的受影响区域和邻近区域之间的组织学和形态学不一致。结论狒狒的动脉粥样硬化伴随人类的组织学，形态学和分子变化，为评估靶组织早期动脉粥样硬化的潜在机制提供了见识。