A, LDLR-/- mice were fed a chow or high fat diet (1.25% cholesterol, 21% milk fat) for 5 weeks. Circulating mononuclear cells were isolated and stained for neutral lipid with Oil Red O.
B, Ex vivo monocytes as in A were stained with LipidTox Red to identify neutral lipid (red), Counterstaining with Alexa Fluor488 (actin cytoskeleton, green) and DAPI (nuclei, blue) demonstrates intracellular localization of the lipid. Scale, 5 μm (lipid, F-actin and merge) and 2 μm (merge-zoom).
C and D, Numbers of lipid-loaded monocytes as a function of total cholesterol and triglycerides levels in plasma.