570
Views
41
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Lipoprotein-specific transport of circulating lipid peroxides

, , &
Pages 521-529 | Received 03 Nov 2009, Accepted 30 Jun 2010, Published online: 19 Aug 2010
 

Abstract

Background. Serum lipoproteins, the carriers of cholesterol and other lipophilic substances in blood, are known to contain variable amounts of lipid peroxides. We investigated the transport of food-derived and endogenously formed lipid peroxides by serum lipoproteins under physiological conditions.

Methods. Five independent trials were conducted in which different groups of healthy volunteers either consumed a test meal (a standard hamburger meal rich in lipid peroxides) or underwent strenuous physical exercise. The transport function was characterized by analyzing the kinetics of lipid peroxides in lipoprotein fractions. For evaluation of their potential involvement, indicators of oxidative stress (8-isoprostanes, malondialdehyde, 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine), antioxidant functions (total antioxidant potential, paraoxonase activity), and serum lipids were also analyzed.

Results. We found that food lipid peroxides are incorporated into serum triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and low-density lipoprotein, directing the flow of lipid peroxides towards peripheral tissues. High-density lipoprotein appears to have an opposite and protective function, and is able to respond to oxidative stress by substantially increasing the reverse transport of lipid peroxides.

Conclusions. We propose that the specific atherosclerosis-related effects of serum lipoproteins are not explained by cholesterol transport alone and may rather result from the transport of the more directly atherogenic lipid peroxides.

Acknowledgements

We thank Ms Leena Söderholm and Ms Niina Hallikainen for excellent technical assistance.

Declaration of interest: This study was supported by grants from the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, and from the Finnish Cultural Foundation. M Ahotupa is the inventor for patents and patent applications related to assays for lipoprotein lipids. The other authors declare no other conflicts of interest.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.