OXIDIZED LOW-DENSITY-LIPOPROTEIN, A 2-FACED JANUS IN CORONARY-ARTERY DISEASE

The word antioxidant has become a household term, and every day we are bombarded with claims of antioxidant protection against a host of dis eases. Atherosclerosis, cancer, gastric ulcers, memory loss, rheumatoi d arthritis, endometriosis, pregnancy complications, hypertension, str oke, and a host of other diseases have been suggested to be induced by oxidative stress, and antioxidants have been suggested to be benefici al in the prevention and treatment of these disorders. While some of t hese may be exuberant claims, atherosclerosis is one disease in which the oxidation hypothesis has taken firm roots. The oxidation of low-de nsity lipoprotein (LDL) has been suggested to be a key step in the ini tiation of the early atherosclerotic lesion. A number of proatherogeni c effects have been described for both the protein and lipid component s of oxidized low-density lipoprotein. In this commentary, a brief des cription of the involvement of oxidation and the potential for antioxi dant treatment for cardiovascular disease will be provided. However, t here are innumerable questions plaguing the hypothesis; this commentar y, therefore, will also serve as a devil's advocate and propose that s ome form of oxidation might actually be beneficial. BIOCHEM PHARMACOL 56;3:279-284, 1998. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.