Pathogenesis of Focal Cytoplasmic Necrosis of the Smooth Muscle Cells in Hypertensive Rat Arterial Media

摘要

Hypertensive rat arteries exhibited severe medial smooth muscle cell injury and necrosis. Electron microscopic observations showed the smooth muscle cells of these arteries exhibited characteristics of focal cytoplasmic necrosis forming new cytodemarcating membrane between the healthy cytoplasm and necrotic cytoplasm. When the focal necrotic cytoplasm disappeared from the injured smooth muscle cells, it left it with a moth-eaten leaf-like appearance (moth-eaten necrosis). At an advanced stage of injury, smooth muscle cells changed to islet-like cell bodies with newly formed basement membranes around them, and further islet-like cell bodies and cell debris disappeared leaving lamellar and reticular basement membranes.