Circulating Oxidized Lipoproteins and Cardiovascular Risk

It has been widely recognized that oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) is involved in cardiovascular diseases. However, one of the major questions has been whether oxLDL is a cause or a result of atherosclerotic lesion development. Immunologic detection of human circulating oxLDL has been established, and evidence of a close relationship between oxLDL levels in human circulating plasma and cardiovascular diseases has been accumulating. Recent prospective studies suggest that plasma oxLDL measurement is potentially a predictive marker for cardiovascular diseases. Another question has been how LDL is oxidized in vivo. Recent progress in structural studies has shown evidence that oxLDL in vivo is oxidized differently from copper-induced oxLDL.