Intracellular Localization of Oxidized Low-density Lipoproteins in Atherosclerotic Plaque Cells Revealed by Electron Microscopy Combined with Laser Capture Microdissection

Recently, laser capture microdissection (LCM) has become a powerful tool for investigating the genome and protein contents of cells populating normal and pathologically altered tissues. The present work reports a technique for the preparation of tissue specimens for further LCM combined with electron microscopy. In this work, atherosclerotic plaque cells containing oxidized low-density lipoproteins (LDL) were microdissected from human carotid arteries and the intracellular distribution of oxidized LDL was examined, providing novel information about the association of microvesicles containing oxidized LDL with “lipid droplets” in macrophage foam cells.