Fig. 7.

LDL-cholesterol correlates with local macrophage proliferation in human atherosclerotic plaques. a Representative image of a carotid artery section with plaque, where lipids are stained with Oil-red O. b Representative images of CD68 (Mϕ, KI67 (proliferation), Hoechst (nuclei) co-staining in the plaque. Arrows mark triple-positive, proliferating Mϕ c Correlation of plaque Mϕ proliferation rate with serum LDL-cholesterol levels and plaque lipid content (ORO⁺ area), respectively. Each point represents an individual patient (n = 20), r: Pearson’s correlation coefficient, p < 0.05 denotes significant correlation