PROBING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CEROID DEPOSITS IN ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUES

该子项目是利用 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目和 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。列出的机构是 中心，不一定是研究者的机构。 我们正在研究化学成分的蜡样沉积在动脉粥样硬化斑块使用拉曼光谱。不溶性脂质-蛋白质复合物蜡样物质的积聚是动脉粥样硬化斑块的特征。蜡样物质形成的机制已被广泛研究，因为该复合物被假定引起细胞损伤和坏死，最终导致斑块不可逆性。尽管进行了深入的研究，但蜡样物质仅通过其荧光特性及其在各种染色过程中的行为来经验性地定义，而其精确的化学组成仍然未知。通过使用我们的组合拉曼和荧光显微镜系统，我们已经检查了化学成分的蜡样沉积物原位在主动脉和冠状动脉粥样硬化。这两种类型的光谱学的协同作用允许通过其荧光特征来识别蜡样物质，并随后通过获取拉曼光谱来阐明其化学组成。最近的工作集中在蜡样存款组成的定量分析。

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.