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 21,279 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Platelets from most patients with type IIa hyperlipoproteinemia (IIa) aggregate in the presence of lower concentrations of epinephrine and adenosine diphosphate (ADP) than are necessary to aggregate normal platelets. We have observed a comparable functional alteration in human platelets made cholesterol-rich in vitro by incubation in a milieu artificially rich in free cholesterol relative to phospholipid. We therefore examined platelet aggregation and lipid composition of platelets and of plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in 19 individuals with IIa (including three homozygotes), seven normolipidemic individuals with symptomatic, angiographically-documented coronary atherosclerosis (atherosclerosis group), and 23 asymptomatic, normolipidemic subjects (control group). More than 99 percent of platelet cholesterol was unesterified. There was a 7 percent increase in the cholesterol content of whole platelets per mole of platelet phospholipid (C/PL) in IIa as compared to normal controls. This resulted from a 22 percent increase in the C/PL of IIa platelet membranes with no change in the C/PL of the soluble or granule fraction. The C/PL of IIa platelets was 6 percent greater than that of platelets from patients with atherosclerosis. As compared to those of normal controls, IIa platelets aggregated in response to a ninefold lower concentration of epinephrine (p less than 0.001) and a twofold lower concentration of ADP (p less than 0.02). The response of atherosclerosis platelets to these agents was comparable to that of controls. In all groups, there was a negative correlation between the log concentration of epinephrine required to produce complete platelet aggregation and the platelet C/PL (r = -0.06; p less than 0.002). The composition of LDL isolated from the plasma of patients with IIa was characterized by a 39 percent increase in the amount of free cholesterol relative to protein and a 35 percent increase in C/PL, as compared with control LDL. These values were increased 23 and 19 percent, respecitvely, when IIa was compared with the atherosclerosis group. In all groups the C/PL of LDL correlated well with the C/PL of platelets (r = =0.61; p less than 0.001). However, a simple cause-and-effect relationship did not appear to exist since (1) erythrocyte membrane C/PL was not affected and (2) normal platelets or erythrocytes underwent no change in C/PL during 18 hours' incubation in IIa plasma. These studies demonstrate that LDL and platelets in IIa contain an increased amount of free cholesterol relative to its principal solubilizer, phospholipid. In platelets this correlates with an increased sensitivity to aggregating agents. Moreover, the similarity between the functional abnormality in IIa platelets and that previously observed in normal platelets made cholesterol-rich in vitro suggests that the lipid composition of platelet membranes may have a direct effect on the function of platelets in man.
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PMID:Abnormalities of cholesterol-phospholipid composition in platelets and low-density lipoproteins of human hyperbetalipoproteinemia. 18 56

Cholesteryl esters have been incorporated into phospholipid vesicles up to 5 mole percent. Excess ester separates out into a separate phase which resembles the mesomorphic droplets of atherosclerosis. The incorporation of 5 mole percent cholesteryl palmitate is shown by 31P NMR studies to increase the permeability of the model membranes to ions 10-fold. The same incorporation of cholesteryl linoleate does not affect the membrane permeability. Implications of these findings, and the significance of the cholesteryl ester/free cholesterol ratio upon atherosclerosis is discussed.
Atherosclerosis 1977 Nov
PMID:Cholesterol esters and membrane permeability. A nuclear magnetic resonance (MNR) study. 41 55

The availability of epsilon-lysine residues of apolipoprotein B in LDL for chemical or enzymic modification was investigated. Amino acid analyses of detergent-solubilized apolipoprotein B, following cyanoethylation with acrylonitrile, revealed that 10% of the lysine in apolipoprotein B were unreactive. The unreactive residues were associated with the most hydrophobic subfraction of apolipoprotein B. Since apolipoprotein B has a high molecular weight a study was undertaken to determine whether lysine residues were crosslinked to glutamic acid via epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)lysine as demonstrated for fibrin. Apolipoprotein B was digested exhaustively with proteases. The content of epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl) lysine was determined by chromatography and isotope dilution. In contrast to earlier reports for serum LDL the data showed that less than 0.01 moles of lysine/mole of LDL apolipoprotein B were present as epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)lysine in plasma LDL. It was determined also that the crosslinks were not found in apolipoprotein B during clotting since LDL was not a substrate for clotting factor XIII which forms the bond in fibrin. Furthermore, the lipoprotein contained no inherent transglutaminase activity. It is concluded that the lysine residues in LDL, which are unreactive to cyanoethylation, can not be detected in the digests as epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)lysine.
Atherosclerosis 1986 Jul
PMID:The biochemistry of epsilon-amino groups of lysine residues from apolipoprotein B of human low density lipoprotein. 373 52

Feeding natural fats varying in contents of palmitate (16:0), stearate (18:0), oleate (18:1), and linoleate (18:2) to rabbits resulted in modulation of platelet phospholipid fatty acyl composition. Rabbits were fed high fat semipurified diets containing 2% corn oil (CO) + 18% CO, cocoa butter (CB) or milkfat (M) for periods of up to 300 d. Platelet phospholipid linoleate contents corresponded to diet levels with 18:2 highest in CO-fed rabbits and following the sequence CO greater than CB greater than M. Stearate was highest in CB-fed rabbits, corresponding to high 18:0 levels in CB, but palmitate levels were not affected by diet. Both CB and M-fed rabbits were higher than CO-fed rabbits in oleate. Though CO is highest in 18:2, the accepted 20:4 precursor, arachidonate was highest in M-fed rabbits. Adding cholesterol (0.2%) to the diets did not affect platelet phospholipid fatty acyl composition except to elevate 20:4 in M-fed rabbits. CO-fed rabbits showed uniquely high levels of tetracosadienoate (24:2). Fatty acyl composition data were essentially constant between 200 and 300 d on diet. Phospholipid fatty acyl unsaturation was apparently homeostatically controlled as mole percent unsaturate to saturate ratios were independent of diet. The observed homeostasis resulted in minimal diet influences on platelet membrane fluidity and ADP or collagen stimulated platelet aggregation. Platelet fluidity, determined by fluorescence polarization, was a function of oleate and linoleate contents of the cells. Cholesterol feeding generally lowered platelet fluidity and altered the dependence of fluidity on fatty acyl composition.
Atherosclerosis 1987 Jan
PMID:Influence of saturated and unsaturated fats on platelet fatty acids in cholesterol-fed rabbits. 382 74

Aggregation of rabbit platelets from citrated plasma in response to ADP was directly correlated with platelet plasma membrane fluidity as determined by fluorescence depolarization measurements with the probe diphenylhexatriene. Rabbits were maintained for periods of 200 and 400 days on potentially hyperlipidemic diets (20% fat by weight) with varying levels of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Dietary variations were effective in modulating the mole percentage distribution patterns of the platelet phospholipid fatty acids. The major chemical control of membrane fluidity was the actual mass of unsaturated lipid in the cells and not simply the relative percentage distributions of such unsaturated fatty acids. Substantially higher phospholipid/protein ratios were observed upon analysis of platelets and platelet membranes from rabbits after 200- than after 400-day diet periods. Accordingly lipid structures were significantly more fluid in either whole platelets or membrane isolates at the end of the shorter diet period. The observations pertaining to the extent of aggregation and membrane fluidity are in consonance with the general role of membrane fluidity in controlling biological activity and support the concept that platelet aggregation is a membrane-associated phenomenon.
Atherosclerosis
PMID:Platelet membrane fluidity and aggregation of rabbit platelets. 674 81

The oxidation of low density lipoproteins (LDL) has been implicated in the development of atherosclerosis. Recently, we found that polar lipids isolated from minimally oxidized LDL produced a dramatic inhibition of lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity, suggesting that HDL-cholesterol transport may be impaired during early atherogenesis. In this study, we have identified molecular species of oxidized lipids that are potent inhibitors of LCAT activity. Treatment of LDL with soybean lipoxygenase generated small quantities of lipid hydroperoxides (20 +/- 4 nmol/mg LDL protein, n = 3); but when lipoxygenase-treated LDL (1 mg protein/ml) was recombined with the d > 1.063 g/ml fraction of human plasma, LCAT activity was rapidly inhibited (25 +/- 4 and 65 +/- 16% reductions by 1 and 3 h, respectively). As phospholipid hydroperoxides (PL-OOH) are the principal oxidation products associated with lipoxygenase-treated LDL, we directly tested whether PL-OOH inhibited plasma LCAT activity. Detailed dose-response curves revealed that as little as 0.2 and 1.0 mole % enrichment of plasma with PL-OOH produced 20 and 50% reductions in LCAT activity by 2 h, respectively. To gain insight into the mechanism of LCAT impairment, the enzyme's free cysteines (Cys31 and Cys184) and active site residues were "capped" with the reversible sulfhydryl compound, DTNB, during exposure to either minimally oxidized LDL or PL-OOH. Reversal of the DTNB "cap" after such exposures revealed that the enzyme was completely protected from both sources of peroxidized phospholipids. We, therefore, conclude that PL-OOH inhibited plasma LCAT activity by modifying the enzyme's free cysteine and/or catalytic residues. These studies are the first to suggest that PL-OOH may accelerate the atherogenic process by impairing LCAT activity.
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PMID:Evidence that lipid hydroperoxides inhibit plasma lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase activity. 1022 64

High plasma homocysteine concentrations have been found to be associated with atherosclerosis and thrombosis of arteries and deep veins. The oxidative damage mediated by hydrogen peroxide production during the metal-catalyzed oxidation of homocysteine is to date considered to be one of the major pathophysiological mechanisms for this association. In this work, a very sensitive and accurate method was employed to measure the effective production of H2O2 during homocysteine oxidation. Furthermore, the interaction of homocysteine with powerful oxidizing species (hypochlorite, peroxynitrite, ferrylmyoglobin) was evaluated in order to ascertain the putative pro-oxidant role of homocysteine. Our findings indicate that homocysteine does not produce H2O2 in a significant amount (1/4000 mole/mole ratio of H2O2 to homocysteine). Moreover, homocysteine strongly inhibits the oxidation of luminol and dihydrorhodamine by hypochlorite or peroxynitrite and rapidly reduces back ferrylmyoglobin, the oxidizing species, to metmyoglobin. All these results should, in our opinion, lead to a rethinking of the commonly held view that homocysteine oxidation is one of the main causative mechanisms of cardiovascular damage.
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PMID:Is homocysteine a pro-oxidant? 1176 8

An experimental study into calcium phosphate (CP) nucleation and growth on cholesterol and cholestanol surfaces from a supersaturated simulated body fluid (SBF) is presented with the overall aim of gaining some fundamental insights into the pathological calcifications associated with atherosclerosis. Soaking of pressed cholesterol disks at physiological temperature in SBF solutions was found to lead to CP nucleation and growth if the disks were surface roughened and if an SBF with concentrations of the calcium and hydrogen phosphate ions at 2.25x physiological concentrations was used. The CP phase deposited was shown via SEM micrographs to possess a florette type morphology akin to that observed in earlier reported studies. The use of recrystallised cholesterol and cholestanol microcrystals as substrates for soaking in SBF facilitated the observation of CP deposition. In general, cholesterol recrystallised from polar solvents like 95% ethanol as a cholesterol monohydrate phase which was a better substrate for CP growth than cholesterol recrystallised from more non-polar solvents (e.g., benzene) which produced anhydrous cholesterol phases. CP was also observed to form on recrystallised cholestanol microcrystals, a molecule closely related to cholesterol. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) data gave confirmation that Ca:P mole ratios of the grown CP were 1.3-1.5 suggesting a mixed phase of octacalcium phosphate (OCP) and Ca-deficient HAp and that the CP coating grows (with time of soaking) on the substrates after nucleation in the SBF growth medium. Infrared (IR) spectra of the extracted coatings from the cholesterol substrates confirmed that the CP phase deposited is a semi crystalline HAp with either carbonate substituted into its structure or else co-deposited as calcium carbonate. Soaking experiments involving modified cholesterol substrates in which the OH group in the molecule was replaced with the oleiyl or phosphonate group showed no CP nucleation and growth. This observation illustrates the importance of the known epitaxial relationship between cholesterol and HAp (which theoretically predicts favourable deposition of one phase upon the other) and the consequences of its destruction (by chemical modification of the cholesterol). In the case of the phosphorylated cholesterol, failure of this substrate to nucleate CP phases may have also been caused by the reduction in concentration of free solution Ca2+ in the SBF medium by complexation with the phosphonate groups on the phosphorylated cholesterol. This would have reduced the ion product of Ca2+ and inorganic phosphate and lowered the degree of supersaturation in the SBF medium.
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PMID:Growth of calcium hydroxyapatite (Ca-HAp) on cholesterol and cholestanol crystals from a simulated body fluid: A possible insight into the pathological calcifications associated with atherosclerosis. 1622 55