Coronary C-reactive protein distribution: its relation to development of atherosclerosis.

Two hundred and ninety-nine paraffin-embedded human coronary artery sections from 68 autopsies, both male and female and with various causes of death, were examined for distribution of C-reactive protein (CRP) using the indirect immunofluorescence technique and high-resolution confocal microscopy. The results demonstrate, for the first time, the existence of CRP in human coronary arteries, with evidence of CRP deposits being associated with lipids within in the artery walls. Grades of CRP immunoreactivity positively correlate with relative intimal thickness and negatively correlate with relative lumen size.

Plasma protein insudation as an index of early coronary atherogenesis.

Two hundred ninety-nine paraffin-embedded coronary artery blocks from 68 autopsy cases were serially sectioned. The blocks were selected to provide a range from normal through various stages of atherosclerosis, and sections were examined with the indirect immunofluorescence technique for intramural distribution of plasma albumin, fibrinogen, and immunoglobulin gamma (IgG). Cryostat-sections of 44 blocks from 22 of the same cases were examined with the same technique for distribution of apolipoprotein B.

Immunohistochemical study of intimal microvessels in coronary atherosclerosis.

Two hundred ninety-nine human coronary artery paraffin-embedded tissue blocks were examined for intimal microvessel invasion by probing for factor VIII-associated antigen with indirect immunofluorescence and high resolution confocal microscopy. The results obtained confirm that intimal microvessels originate in the adventitia and show that the richness of intimal microvessels is strongly positively correlated with intimal thickness and negatively correlated with relative lumen size. A number of plasma constituents were examined in serial sections.

A method for embedding thin membranes in historesin.

A method is described for flat-embedding thin membranous tissues in Historesin. It allows easy orientation for sectioning large areas parallel to the surface. Selected fields can be monitored from the unfixed specimen, throughout preparation, to mounting on the microscope slide.

Microvasculature of normal and involuted mouse thymus. Light- and electron-microscopic study.

The spatial arrangement of blood vessels in the thymus of normal and hydrocortisone-injected mice was studied by light and electron microscopy. The thymus is supplied by one thymic artery which branches into arterioles as it enters the parenchyma. These, in turn, feed capillary networks in the cortex and in the medulla.