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Monitoring Modified Lipoprotein Uptake and Macropinocytosis Associated with Macrophage Foam Cell Formation

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Atherosclerosis

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2419))

Abstract

Macrophage foam cell formation plays a crucial role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. Macrophages uptake native and modified low density lipoprotein (LDL) through either receptor-dependent or receptor-independent mechanisms to transform into lipid laden foam cells. Foam cells are involved in the formation of fatty streak that is seen during the early stages of atherosclerosis development and therefore represents a promising therapeutic target. Normal or modified lipoproteins labeled with fluorescent dyes such as 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3-3-3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (Dil) are often used to monitor their internalization during foam cell formation. In addition, the fluorescent dye Lucifer Yellow (LY) is widely used as a marker for macropinocytosis activity. In this chapter, we describe established methods for monitoring modified lipoprotein uptake and macropinocytosis during macrophage foam cell formation.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the British Heart Foundation for financial support (grants PG/16/25/32097 and FS/17/75/33257). AA received PhD studentship from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Jeddah University).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Alaa Alahmadi & Dipak P. Ramji

Authors
  1. Alaa Alahmadi
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  2. Dipak P. Ramji
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Correspondence to Alaa Alahmadi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Dipak Ramji

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© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

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Alahmadi, A., Ramji, D.P. (2022). Monitoring Modified Lipoprotein Uptake and Macropinocytosis Associated with Macrophage Foam Cell Formation. In: Ramji, D. (eds) Atherosclerosis. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2419. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1924-7_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1924-7_14

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1923-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1924-7

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