Published online before print March 4, 2002, doi: 10.1161/01.CIR.0000012527.94843.BF
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(Circulation. 2002;105:1596.)
© 2002 American Heart Association, Inc.
Basic Science Reports |
In Vivo Temperature Heterogeneity of Atherosclerotic Plaques Is Determined by Plaque Composition
From the Cardiovascular Translational Research Institute Middelheim Antwerp (S.V., G.R.Y.D.M., G.V.L., M.W.M.K., M.M.K.); the Department of Cardiology, Middelheim Hospital (S.V., G.V.L.); the Division of Pharmacology, University of Antwerp (G.R.Y.D.M.); and the Department of Pathology, Middelheim Hospital (M.W.M.K., M.M.K.), Antwerp, Belgium.
Correspondence to Stefan Verheye, MD, Cardiovascular Translational Research Institute Middelheim Antwerp (Cardio Vative Research) and the Department of Cardiology, Middelheim, Lindendreef 1, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium. E-mail stefan.verheye{at}pandora.be
Background— Temperature heterogeneity of atherosclerotic plaques has been associated with macrophage accumulation in ex vivo studies. We investigated in vivo whether modifying the cell composition of rabbit atherosclerotic plaques by dietary cholesterol lowering can influence temperature heterogeneity.
Methods and Results— Twenty New Zealand rabbits were randomized to either a normal (n=10) or cholesterol-rich (0.3%) diet (n=10) for 6 months. Thereafter, intravascular ultrasound and intravascular catheter-based thermography of the surface of aortic arch and descending aorta were performed in all animals. Ten control and 5 hypercholesterolemic rabbits were euthanized, and their aortas were analyzed histologically. The 5 remaining rabbits received a normal diet for 3 months and underwent repeat ultrasound and thermography before euthanasia followed by histology. Ex vivo temperature was measured in 3 additional rabbits at 6 months to correlate local temperature with local plaque composition. In control animals, plaque formation and temperature heterogeneity were absent. In hypercholesterolemic rabbits, plaque formation was prominent in the thoracic aorta. Plaques were composed of fibromuscular tissue and contained, underneath endothelial cells, an accumulation of foam cells of macrophage origin. Temperature heterogeneity was markedly elevated and increased with plaque thickness. Importantly, after 3 months of cholesterol lowering, plaque thickness remained unchanged, but temperature heterogeneity was significantly decreased. This paralleled plaque histology, which showed a marked loss of macrophages. The ex vivo experiments demonstrated the relation between local temperature and local total macrophage mass.
Conclusions— In vivo temperature heterogeneity of rabbit atherosclerotic plaques is determined by plaque composition. In vivo thermography may have important clinical implications in the assessment of plaque composition.
Key Words: atherosclerosis • catheters • hypercholesterolemia • lipids • plaque
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