Oxidized LDL (oxLDL)
DEOxidiertes LDL (oxLDL)
Oxidized LDL (oxLDL) is LDL that has been chemically altered by oxidation. Both its fats and its main protein (apolipoprotein B-100) get modified. This usually happens in your artery wall. There, LDL gets trapped and exposed to reactive oxygen species and oxidizing enzymes (lipoxygenases). Once oxidized, the particle is no longer recognized by the normal LDL receptor. Instead, immune cells (macrophages) gobble it up through 'scavenger receptors' (SR-A, CD36). That turns them into foam cells, the hallmark of early plaque. Circulating oxLDL is measured by immunoassays. They use antibodies (like 4E6 or E06) that recognize oxidized phosphatidylcholine. oxLDL is elevated in people with coronary artery disease, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. As a direct sign of lipid oxidation at the vessel wall, it differs from two other markers. It is not F2-isoprostanes (a body-wide oxidative-stress index). And it is not LDL-C or LDL-P, which do not capture oxidation.
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Sources
- Steinberg D. (2006). Thematic review series: the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. An interpretive history of the cholesterol controversy, part V: the discovery of the statins and the end of the controversy. *Journal of Lipid Research*doi:10.1194/jlr.r600009-jlr200
- Holvoet P, Mertens A, Verhamme P, Bogaerts K, Beyens G, Verhaeghe R, et al.. (2001). Circulating oxidized LDL is a useful marker for identifying patients with coronary artery disease. *Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology*doi:10.1161/01.ATV.21.5.844