Oxidative modification converts low-density lipoprotein (LDL) into its atherogenic form and appears to be a necessary precondition for LDL uptake by macrophages during foam cell formation. Cellular lipoxygenases have been implicated in this process. We studied the interaction of purified mammalian lipoxygenases with human LDL in v i m and found that the arachidonate 15-lipoxygenases of rabbit and man are capable of oxygenating lipoproteins as indicated by oxygen uptake and by the formation of thiobarbituric-acid-reactive substances. Furthermore, oxygenated polyenoic fatty acids, such as 13-hydro(pero)xy-9Z, 11 E-octadecadienoic acid and 15-hydro(pero)xy-5,8,11,13 (Z,Z, Z,E)-eicosatetraenoic acid were detected in the lipid compartment of various lipoproteins classes after lipoxygenase treatment. More than 90% of the oxygenated polyenoic fatty acids were found in the ester-lipid fraction, particularly in the cholesterol esters, whereas only small amounts of free hydro(pero)xy polyenoic fatty acids were detected. Lipoxygenase-catalyzed oxygenation of LDL is not restricted to the lipid compartment but also leads to a cooxidative modification of the apoproteins as indicated by changes in the electrophoretic mobility and by the formation of carbonyl derivatives of amino acid side chains. The possible biological significance of lipoxygenase-induced oxidative modification of lipoproteins in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is discussed.Atherosclerosis is a multifactoral disease, the pathogenesis of which is not fully understood [l-31. It has been shown by morphological studies that the accumulation of lipid-loaded foam cells in the subendothelial space leads to the formation of fatty streaks, which are generally accepted as the early atherosclerotic lesions [l -41. Foam cells develop from monocyte-derived macrophages [5, 61 or from smooth muscle cells [7] by taking up modified low-density lipoproteins (LDL) via scavenger-receptor(s)-mediated pathways. The occurrence of oxidatively modified proteins in atherosclerotic lesions [8, 91 and the fact that oxidatively modified LDL is rapidly taken up by macrophages [lo] suggested an involvement of oxidative processes in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. However, the mechanism of oxidative modification in vivo remains unclear. In-vitro studies with cell-free systems indicated that copper-mediated oxidation converts LDL into its atherogenic form [ll] The oxygenation of lipoproteins by mammalian lipoxygenases has not been studied so far. The soybean lipoxygenase which largely differs from mammalian lipoxygenases with respect to its protein chemical and enzymic properties is capable of oxidizing LDL only in the presence of phospholipase A, which provides free polyenoic fatty acids by cleaving lipoprotein phospholipids [20]. This result is not surprising since the soybean lipoxygenase has been shown to effectively oxygenate ester lipids only in the presence of detergents [21]. However, the rabbit reticulocyte lipoxygenase is capable of oxygenating complex ester lipids such ...

We investigated the geometry of the iron ligand sphere of the native rabbit 15-lipoxygenase (15-LOX) by X-ray absorption spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation. The soybean LOX-1 was used as a reference compound because its iron ligand sphere is well characterized. For structural information the X-ray absorption spectra were evaluated using the Excurve Program (CCLRC Daresbury Laboratory, Warrington, U.K.). From the positions of the absorption edges and from the intensities of the 1s-3d pre-edge transition peaks a six-coordinate ferrous iron was concluded for the rabbit 15-LOX. Evaluation of the extended region of the absorption spectra suggested six nitrogen and/or oxygen atoms as direct iron ligands, and the following binding distances were determined (means+/-S.D.; estimated accuracy is +/-0.001nm for bond distances, on the basis of more than 22 X-ray absorption spectra): 0.213+/-0.001nm, 0.213+/-0. 001 nm, 0.236+/-0.001 nm, 0.293+/-0.001 nm, 0.189+/-0.001 nm and 0. 242+/-0.001. Lyophilization of the LOX altered the binding distances but did not destroy the octahedral iron ligand sphere. For construction of a structural model of the iron ligand sphere the binding distances extracted from the X-ray spectra were assigned to specific amino acids (His-360, -365, -540, -544 and the C-terminal Ile-662) by molecular modelling using the crystal coordinates of the soybean LOX-1 and of a rabbit 15-LOX-inhibitor complex.