Signaling pathways potentially responsible for foam cell formation: Cholesterol accumulation or inflammatory response - What is primary?

Background and Aims: The main sources of accumulating lipids in foam cells are atherogenic modified LDL (mLDL) taking up by arterial cells in an unregulated manner bypassing the specialized LDL receptor. mLDL associates are taken up by nonspecific phagocytosis. We also used latex beads as a stimulator of macrophage phagocytotic activity. The objective was to establish whether there are common mechanisms in the interaction of macrophages with associates of mLDL and similar size non-lipid latex particles.