PROBING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CEROID DEPOSITS IN ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUES

本子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的众多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能已经从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。列出的机构是中心的，不一定是研究者的机构。我们正在使用拉曼光谱研究动脉粥样硬化斑块中ceroid沉积物的化学成分。不溶性脂蛋白复合物ceroid的积累是动脉粥样硬化斑块的特征。ceroid形成的机制已被广泛研究，该复合物被认为会导致细胞损伤和坏死，最终导致斑块的不可逆性。尽管研究深入，类铈只是通过其荧光特性和在各种染色过程中的行为来经验地定义，而其精确的化学成分仍然未知。通过联合拉曼和荧光显微镜系统，我们检查了主动脉和冠状动脉粥样硬化原位ceroid沉积物的化学成分。这两种光谱的协同作用允许通过其荧光特征识别类铈，并通过获得拉曼光谱随后阐明其化学成分。最近的工作集中在铈矿床组成的定量分析上。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. We are investigating the chemical composition of ceroid deposits in atherosclerotic plaques using Raman spectroscopy. Accumulation of the insoluble lipid-protein complex, ceroid, is a characteristic of atherosclerotic plaques. The mechanism of ceroid formation has been extensively studied as the complex is postulated to cause cell injury and necrosis ultimately resulting in plaque irreversibility. Despite intensive research, ceroid is only defined empirically through its fluorescence properties and its behavior during various staining processes, while its precise chemical composition remains unknown. By using our combined Raman and fluorescence microscopy system we have examine the chemical composition of ceroid deposits in situ in aorta and coronary artery atherosclerosis. The synergy of these two types of spectroscopy allows for the identification of ceroid via its fluorescence signature and the subsequent elucidation of its chemical composition through the acquisition of a Raman spectrum. Recent work has focused on quantitative analysis of ceroid deposit composition.