| Abstract: | The experiments on 40 young and old rabbits which were given exogenous immune complexes (IC) for a month were made to study the changes in the blood levels of circulating IC (CIC), cholesterol and lipoproteins and their relation to the degree of atherosclerotic lesions to the vessels. The old animals that had low levels of minor CIC and insignificant transient increases in blood lipids were demonstrated to develop the same vascular atherosclerotic lesions as did the young animals that had higher levels of CIC and lipids. Some old animals retained a high immunological responsiveness (high CIC levels), which was accompanied by high incidence rates and extent of aortic lipid lesions. The findings make us conclude that the role of IC in atherosclerotic responsiveness increases with age. |
