EVANS BLUE DYE - ACCUMULATION IN SWINE AORTIC INTIMAL CELL COLLECTIONS AND ATHEROSCLEROTIC LESIONS

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 104  (12) , 625-630
Abstract
The accumulation of i.v. injected Evans blue dye in the abdominal aorta of swine was studied. In normolipidemic swine weighing up to 90 kg each, Evans blue accumulated predominantly in areas of the aorta that were the site of intimal smooth muscle cell collections. Evans blue accumulation was then studied in swine with advanced atherosclerosis. The extent of blue staining in these aniamls was not significantly different than in normolipidemic, nonatherosclerotic swine of the same size. The dye showed a predilection for raised atherosclerotic lesions, but only 1/4 of the surface of these lesions was stained. Histological studies of the uppermost portion of blue and nonblue lesion areas showed that the dye preferentially accumulated in regions with lower concentrations of foam cells. Injected isotopic cholesterol tended to accumulate in the blue rather than the nonblue areas.