Effect of lipid transfer activity and lipolysis on low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidizability: evidence for lipolysis-generated non-esterified fatty acids as inhibitors of LDL oxidation.

Low density lipoproteins (LDL) were modified in vitro in the presence of lipid transfer activity and lipolysis, which induced alterations in the size and lipid composition of LDL particles but not in their antioxidant content. Subsequently, modified LDL were oxidized with copper sulfate and the extent of LDL oxidation was evaluated. Lipid transfer activity alone, or in combination with lipolysis, led to a significant reduction of LDL oxidability as compared with starting homologous LDL. Furthermore, the combined effect of lipid transfers and lipolysis reduced LDL oxidability to a significantly greater extent than did lipid transfers alone. Consistent results were obtained by measuring either the formation of lipid peroxides, the appearance of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), the disappearance of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), or the generation of cholesterol oxides. Non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) arose as putative candidates in reducing oxidation susceptibility of LDL: NEFA-containing LDL were less oxidizable; the enrichment of LDL with either oleic acid or linoleic acid reduced significantly their oxidability; the oxidation susceptibility of either in vitro modified LDL or LDL isolated from normal or analbuminemic patients significantly increased after reduction of their NEFA content with fatty acid-poor albumin. After NEFA depletion, small-sized LDL resulting from the combined effects of lipid transfer and triglyceride hydrolysis activities became more oxidizable than large-sized LDL treated with lipid transfer activity alone. In addition, the PUFA to total fatty acid ratio and the oxidability of modified LDL varied accordingly after NEFA depletion, showing that in the present study not only lipoprotein-bound NEFA but also the total fatty acid composition of LDL could account for alterations in their oxidability.