A COMPARISON OF THE QUANTITATION OF MACROPHAGE FOAM CELL-POPULATIONS AND THE EXTENT OF APOLIPOPROTEIN-E DEPOSITION IN DEVELOPING ATHEROSCLEROTIC LESIONS IN YOUNG-PEOPLE - HIGH AND LOW SERUM THIOCYANATE GROUPS AS AN INDICATION OF SMOKING

Smoking is considered a major risk factor for the development and prog ression of atherosclerosis. The effects of apolipoprotein E (apo E) an d macrophages in the pathogenesis and progression of human atheroscler osis have not been adequately elucidated even though they are frequent components of the diseased arterial intima. Anatomically standardized samples of arteries from young people whose risk factor indices indic ated them as ''smokers'' or ''non-smokers'' have been studied micromor phometrically. It was found that smokers have a greater area in which apo E is deposited in the early stages of the disease than do non-smok ers. Smokers also demonstrated greater ''macrophage foam cell populati ons'' than did non-smokers. The study also demonstrates a positive cor relation between the number of macrophage foam cells and the extent of apo E deposition in the developing lesions of the thoracic and abdomi nal aortas of white men aged 30-34 years who have evidence of recent c igarette smoking as determined by their postmortem blood thiocyanate l evels.