No abstract

The temporal disappearance of natural antioxidants associated with human low density lipoprotein (LDL) in relation to the appearance of various classes of lipid hydroperoxides was investigated under three types of oxidizing conditions. Freshly isolated LDL from plasma of healthy subjects was free of detectable amounts of lipid hydroperoxides as measured by HPLC postcolumn chemiluminescence detection. Exposure of such LDL to a mild, constant flux of aqueous peroxyl radicals led to rapid and complete oxidation of ubiquinol-10, followed by slower partial depletion of lycopene, 13-carotene, and a-tocopherol. After an initial lag period of complete inhibition of detectable lipid peroxidation, formation of hydroperoxides of cholesterol esters, triglycerides, and phospholipids was observed. The onset of detectable lipid peroxidation corresponded closely with the completion of ubiquinol-10 consumption. However, small amounts of ascorbate, present as a contaminant in the LDL preparation, rather than ubiquinol-10 itself were responsible for the initial lag period. Thus, complete consumption of ubiquinol-10 was preceded by that of ascorbate, and exposure of ascorbate-free LDL to aqueous peroxyl radicals resulted in immediate formation of detectable amounts of lipid hydroperoxides. The rate of radical-mediated formation of lipid hydroperoxides in ascorbate-free LDL was low as long as ubiquinol-10 was present, but increased rapidly after its consumption, even though more than 80% and 95% of endogenous carotenoids and a-tocopherol, respectively, were still present. Qualitatively similar results were obtained when peroxyl radicals were generated within LDL or when the lipoprotein was exposed to oxidants produced by activated human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. LDL oxidation was reduced significantly by supplementing the lipoprotein preparation with physiological amounts ofeither ascorbate or ubiquinol-10. Our data show that ubiquinol-10 is much more efficient in inhibiting LDL oxidation than either lycopene, ,B-carotene, or a-tocopherol.

No abstract

High density lipoprotein is the major carrier of lipid hydroperoxides in human blood plasma from fasting donors (atherosclerosis/low density lipoprotein/oildation/ubiquinol/metabolism)

Uptake of oxidatively modified low-density lipoprotein (LDL) by cells in the arterial wall is believed to be an important early event in the development of atherosclerosis. Because vitamin E is the major antioxidant present in human lipoproteins, it has received much attention as a suppressor of LDL lipid oxidation and as an epidemiological marker for ischaemic heart disease. However, a careful examination of lipid peroxidation in LDL induced by a steady flux of aqueous peroxyl radicals has demonstrated that, following consumption of endogenous ubiquinol-10, the rate of peroxidation (i) declines as vitamin E is consumed, (ii) is faster in the presence of vitamin E than following its complete consumption, (iii) is substantially accelerated by enrichment of the vitamin in LDL, either in vitro or by diet, and (iv) is virtually independent of the applied radical flux. We propose that perodixation is propagated within lipoprotein particles by reaction of the vitamin E radical (i.e. alpha-tocopheroxyl radical) with polyunsaturated fatty acid moieties in the lipid. This lipid peroxidation mechanism, which can readily be rationalized by the known chemistry of the alpha-tocopheroxyl radical and by the radical-isolating properties of fine emulsions such as LDL, explains how reagents which reduce the alpha-tocopheroxyl radical (i.e. vitamin C and ubiquinol-10) strongly inhibit lipid peroxidation in vitamin E-containing LDL.