The role of reactive oxygen species in the vascular pathology asiated with atherosclerosis was examined by testing the hypothesis that impaired vascular reactivity results from the reaction of nitric oxide (NO) with superoxide (O2), yielding the oxidant peroynitrite (ONOO-). Contractility studies were performed on femoral arteries from rabbits fed a cholesterol-supplemented diet Endothelium-dependent relaxation is impaired in vessels from atherosclerotic patients (1, 2) and hypercholesterolemic animal models (3-6), suggesting the functional modification of endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) in hyperlipidemia. The dynamic role ofthe endothelium in the regulation of vascular tone was established when it was observed that relaxation of isolated blood vessels by vasoactive agents, such as acetylcholine (ACh) and the calcium ionophore A23187, was dependent on an intact endothelium and a diffusible factor (EDRF) that stimulated cGMP-dependent relaxation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs; ref. 7).Nitric oxide (-NO) and EDRF share similar chemical and pharmacological properties (8) and are derived from the oxidation of a terminal guanidino group of L-arginine (9, 10).Numerous mechanisms have been suggested for the defect in vascular relaxation in atherosclerosis and hypercholesterolemic animal models. They include an increased diffusional barrier for 'NO due to intimal cell proliferation and lipid deposition (11), L-argifine depletion (3,12,13) Vessel Contraction Studies. New Zealand White rabbits (2.5-3.0 kg) were maintained on rabbit chow containing 1% cholesterol (Ralston Purina) for 6 months prior to study [cholesterol-fed (Chol-fed) group]. Age-and weight-matched controls were fed a standard diet. After exsanguination under ketamine/rompun anesthesia, vessels were isolated and changes in tension were measured in femoral artery ring segments as described (28). After maximal contraction with 70 mM KCl and recovery, phenylephrine was added to achieve 30% of maximal tone. Rings were then exposed to increasing doses of ACh; relaxation is reported as the percentage decrease in preexisting tone. After the generation of cumulative ACh dose-response curves, rings were exposed to 30 ,uM papaverine. In some experiments, rings from control and Chol-fed rabbits were incubated with 3 mM L-arginine for 30 min prior to administration of ACh. In other studies, vessels were treated with native bovine SOD (200 units/ml) before measuring ACh-induced relaxation. All studies were performed in the presence of 5 !uM indomethacin.

Apolipoprotein (apo) B-100, the major protein component in low density lipoprotein (LDL), is the ligand that binds to the LDL receptor. It is important in the metabolism of LDL and elevated plasma levels of LDL-apo B are strongly associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease. Although apo B-100 is of great clinical and biological importance its primary structure has defied chemical elucidation, mainly because of its enormous size, insolubility, and tendency to aggregate. Less than 5% of the apo B-100 sequence has been reported, despite the efforts of many laboratories over the past twenty years. Here we report the complete amino acid sequence of human apo B-100 as deducted by sequence analysis of complementary DNA clones; 2,366 of the 4,536 residues were also confirmed by direct sequencing of apo B-100 tryptic peptides. The distribution of trypsin-accessible and -inaccessible peptides of the protein on LDL is non-random and they can be grouped into 5 hypothetical domains. Of 20 potential N-glycosylation sites identified in the sequence, 13 were found by direct peptide sequencing to be glycosylated, and 4 unglycosylated. Examination of the primary structure of apo B-100 reveals that it contains a large number of long (greater than 70 residues) internal repeats and an even larger number of shorter ones, suggesting that the apo B-100 sequence was derived largely from internal duplications. Finally, using synthetic peptides of a specific region of apo B-100, we have identified a potential LDL receptor-binding domain (residues 3,345-3,381) which can bind to the LDL receptor and suppress 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase activities in cultured human fibroblasts.

Abstract-Previous studies suggest that high-density lipoprotein and apoAI inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory responses. The goal of the current study was to test the hypothesis that the apoAI mimetic peptide L-4F exerts antiinflammatory effects similar to apoAI. Pretreatment of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with LPS induced the adhesion of THP-1 monocytes. Incubation of cells with LPS and L-4F (1 to 50 g/mL) reduced THP-1 adhesion in a concentration-dependent manner. This response was associated with a significant reduction in the synthesis of cytokines, chemokines, and adhesion molecules. L-4F reduced vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 expression induced by LPS or lipid A, whereas a control peptide (Sc-4F) showed no effect. In contrast to LPS treatment, L-4F did not inhibit IL-1␤-or tumor necrosis factor-␣-induced vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 expression. 1 Approximately 50% of patients in intensive care units develop severe sepsis, and the overall mortality rate of all affected patients is 29%. 1 Mortality is attributable, in large part, to the cytotoxic actions of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (endotoxin), a component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. LPS is composed of a core oligosaccharide, a repeating polysaccharide side chain, and the glycolipid moiety lipid A. 2 Proinflammatory and cytotoxic effects of LPS are mediated by lipid A. 3 LPS is released from bacterial membranes into the circulation where it interacts with lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP), a member of the superfamily of phospholipid binding proteins. LBP binds to lipid A and mediates the disaggregation of LPS to form an LBP-LPS complex. 4 LBP directs LPS to membrane-associated CD14 receptors (mCD14) on myeloid cells 5 including monocytes and neutrophils. mCD14 is a cell surface-anchored protein that facilitates the binding of LPS and activation of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 which acts as the cellular transducer of LPS action. 2,6 Plasma LPS-LBP may also interact with soluble CD14 to form a complex that activates TLRs on endothelial, epithelial, Kuppfer, and other cells. 7 By activating nuclear factor B-dependent signaling mechanisms, LPS stimulates the synthesis/release of inflammatory cytokines, which play an important role in the innate immune response. 8,9 Dysregulation of this response leads to the development of endothelial dysfunction, intravascular coagulation, pulmonary injury, multiple organ failure, and death.The acute-phase response to bacterial infection induces changes in plasma lipoprotein levels that are characterized by Original

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A B S T Rby 10% at 5 nM and 40% at 47 nM. Acetyl LDL at 130 nM had no effect. We conclude that the massive triglyceride accumulation produced in macrophages by hypertriglyceridemic VLDL is a direct consequence of uptake via specific receptors that also recognize cholesteryl ester-rich VLDL and LDL but are distinct from the acetyl LDL receptor. Uptake of these triglyceride-rich lipoproteins by monocyte-macrophages in vivo may play a significant role in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis.

Human apolipoprotein E (apo E) consists of two distinct domains, the lipid-associating domain (residues 192-299) and the globular domain (residues 1-191) which contains the LDL receptor (LDLR) binding site (residues 129-169). To test the hypothesis that an arginine-rich apo E receptor binding domain (residues 141-150) is sufficient to enhance low-density lipoprotein (LDL) uptake and clearance when covalently linked to a class A amphipathic helix, a peptide in which the receptor binding domain of human apo E, LRKLRKRLLR (hApoE[141-150]), is linked to 18A, a well-characterized high-affinity lipid-associating peptide (DWLKAFYDKVAEKLKEAF), we synthesized the peptide hApoE[141-150]-18A (hE18A) and its end-protected analogue, Ac-hE18A-NH(2). The importance of positively charged residues and the role of the hydrophobic residues in the receptor binding domain were also studied using four analogues. Ac-LRRLRRRLLR-18A-NH(2) [Ac-hE(R)18A-NH(2)] and Ac-LRKMRKRLMR-18A-NH(2) (Ac-mE18A-NH(2)) contained an extended hydrophobic face, including the receptor binding region. Control peptides, Ac-LRLLRKLKRR-18A-NH(2) [Ac-hE(Sc)18A-NH(2)], had the amino acid residues of the apo E receptor binding domain scrambled to disrupt the extended hydrophobic face, and Ac-RRRRRRRRRR-18A-NH(2) (Ac-R(10)18A-NH(2)) had only positively charged Arg residues as the receptor binding domain. The effect of the dual-domain peptides on the uptake and degradation of human LDL by fibroblasts was determined in murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEF1). LDL internalization was enhanced 3-, 5-, and 7-fold by Ac-mE18A-NH(2), Ac-hE18A-NH(2), and Ac-hE(R)18A-NH(2), respectively, whereas the control peptides had no significant biological activity. All three active peptides increased the level of degradation of LDL by 100%. The LDL binding and internalization to MEF1 cells in the presence of these peptides was not saturable over the LDL concentration range that was studied (1-10 microgram/mL). Furthermore, a similar enhancement of LDL internalization was observed independent of the presence of the LDL receptor-related protein (LRP), LDLR, or both. Pretreatment of cells with heparinase and heparitinase abolished more than 80% of the enhanced peptide-mediated LDL uptake and degradation by cells. We conclude that the dual-domain peptides enhanced LDL uptake and degradation by fibroblasts via a heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG)-mediated pathway.

Background-These studies were designed to determine whether the dual-domain peptide with a class A amphipathic helix linked to the receptor-binding domain of apolipoprotein (apo) E (Ac-hE-18A-NH 2 ) possesses both antidyslipidemic and antiinflammatory properties. Methods and Results-A single bolus (15 mg/kg IV) of Ac-hE-18A-NH 2 that contains LRKLRKRLLR (141-to 150-residue region of apo E) covalently linked to apo A-I mimetic peptide 18A not only reduced plasma cholesterol levels (baseline, 562Ϯ29.0 mg/dL versus 287.7Ϯ22.0 mg/dL at 18 hours, PϽ0.001) in the Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbit model but also significantly improved arterial endothelial function. This improvement was associated with a reduction in 2 markers of oxidative stress. First, the plasma lipid hydroperoxide content was reduced significantly, an effect associated with a 5-fold increase in HDL paraoxonase activity. Second, the formation of superoxide anion, a scavenger of nitric oxide, was also significantly reduced in arteries of these animals. Conclusions-Because dyslipidemia and endothelial dysfunction are common features of the atherosclerotic disease process, this unique dual-domain peptide has ideal composite properties that ameliorate key contributory factors to atherosclerosis. (Circulation. 2005;111:3112-3118.)

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