Review Article

Role of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Atherosclerosis and Diabetic Macrovascular Complications

Figure 2

Structural alterations of cisterns of granular endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in macrophages residing in human atherosclerotic lesions (identified by means of electron microscopy) (a–e). In contrast to intact ER cistern appearance (a), some ER cisterns display a notable expansion of the intracisternal space (b) and demonstrate focal disappearance of ribosomes from the internal membranes of cisterns (a, b). In some macrophages, the expansion of the intracisternal space is accompanied by degenerative alterations of ER cistern (d, e). (e) is a detail of (d). The arrows in (e) show ribosomes which are still present on the internal surface of a degenerating ER cistern. In (c), L: lipid droplet. Bars = 100 nm (a–c), 500 nm (d).
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(a)
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(b)
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(c)
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(d)
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(e)