About the effect of risk factors on the structure and the proliferation of arterial wall cells: Part 1: Changes in structure and proliferation of cultivated aortic smooth muscle cells from hypertensive-diabetic rats

Summary In cultivated aortic smooth muscle cells (SMC) from normal or hypertensive-diabetic rats respectively, two types of cells, small SMC and large ones, were observed. The differences between the surface areas, form factors and nucleus-plasma relations of the small and the large cells, measured by morphometric methods are evident. The ratio of small to large cells originating from the normal group was 87%: 13%, and of those originating from the hypertensive-diabetic group 76%: 24%. The percentages of polynuclear cells from the normal group were 3.9% and from the hypertensive-diabetic group 6.1%. The small cells from hypertensive-diabetic rats proliferated faster ( 3 H-thymidine labeling index 23.7%) than those from the control rats ( 3 H-thymidine labeling index 12.9%). Their large cells showed on the contrary a trend to slower proliferation.