Very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) are metabolic precursors of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and a risk factor for atherosclerosis. Human VLDL are heterogeneous complexes containing triacylglyceride-rich apolar lipid core and polar surface comprised of phospholipids, a nonexchangeable apolipoprotein B, and exchangeable apolipoproteins E and Cs. We report the first stability study of VLDL. Circular dichroism and turbidity data reveal an irreversible heat-induced VLDL transition that involves formation of larger particles and repacking of apolar lipids but no global protein unfolding. Heating rate effect on the melting temperature indicates a kinetically controlled reaction with high activation energy, E a . Arrhenius analysis of the turbidity data reveals two kinetic phases with E a =53±7 kcal/mol that correspond to distinct morphological transitions observed by electron microscopy. One transition involves VLDL fusion, partial rupture and dissociation of small spherical particles (d=7-15 nm), and another involves complete lipoprotein disintegration and lipid coalescence into droplets accompanied by dissociation of apolipoprotein B. The small particles, which are unique to VLDL denaturation, are comparable in size and density to high-density lipoproteins (HDL); they have apolar lipid core and polar surface comprised of exchangeable apolipoproteins (E and possibly Cs) and phospholipids. We conclude that, similar to HDL and LDL, VLDL are stabilized by kinetic barriers that prevent particle fusion and rupture and decelerate spontaneous inter-conversion among lipoprotein classes and subclasses. In addition to fusion, VLDL disruption involves transient formation of HDL-like particles that may mimic protein exchange among VLDL and HDL pools in plasma.Plasma lipoproteins, including high-, low-, intermediate-, and very-low density lipoproteins (HDL, LDL, IDL and VLDL), are macromolecular complexes of lipids and proteins (termed apolipoproteins) that mediate lipid transport and metabolism and are central in the development of coronary artery disease. HDL are anti-atherogenic, LDL are pro-atherogenic, and VLDL are not only direct metabolic precursors of LDL but also an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). VLDL are the major carriers of triacylglycerides (TG) in plasma. Human VLDL form heterogeneous population of spherical particles that contain apolar core comprised mainly of TG and cholesterol esters (CE) and polar surface comprised of cholesterol-containing phospholipid monolayer and proteins. The proteins include one copy of non-exchangeable apolipoprotein B (apoB, 550 kD) and multiple copies of exchangeable apolipoproteins, mainly apoE (34 kD) and apoCs (6-9 kD), that comprise over 50% of the total VLDL protein content. Metabolic remodeling by lipolytic enzymes converts VLDL into LDL that contain apoB as their sole protein, while the dissociated apoE and apoCs enter the HDL pool (2,4). Structural Our recent thermal and chemical denaturation analyses have shown that HDL and LDL...

High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) are protein-lipid assemblies that remove excess cell cholesterol and prevent atherosclerosis. HDL are stabilized by kinetic barriers that decelerate protein dissociation and lipoprotein fusion. We propose that similar barriers modulate metabolic remodeling of plasma HDLs; hence, changes in particle composition that destabilize HDLs and accelerate their denaturation may accelerate their metabolic remodeling. To test this notion, we correlate existing reports on HDLmediated cell cholesterol efflux and esterification, which are obligatory early steps in cholesterol removal, with our kinetic studies of HDL stability. The results support our hypothesis and show that factors accelerating cholesterol efflux and esterification in model discoidal lipoproteins (including reduced protein size, reduced fatty acyl chain length and/or increased cis-unsaturation) destabilize lipoproteins and accelerate their fusion and apolipoprotein dissociation. Oxidation studies of plasma spherical HDL show a similar trend: mild oxidation by Cu 2+ or OCl -accelerates cell cholesterol efflux, protein dissociation and HDL fusion, while extensive oxidation inhibits these reactions. Consequently, moderate destabilization may benefit HDL functions by facilitating insertion of cholesterol and lipophilic enzymes, promoting dissociation of lipid-poor apolipoproteins, which are primary acceptors of cell cholesterol, and thereby accelerating HDL metabolism. Therefore, HDL stability must be delicately balanced to maintain structural integrity of the lipoprotein assembly and ensure structural specificity necessary for HDL interactions with its metabolic partners, while facilitating rapid HDL remodeling and turnover at key junctures of cholesterol transport. The inverse correlation between HDL stability and remodeling illustrates the functional importance of structural disorder in macromolecular assemblies stabilized by kinetic barriers. KeywordsKinetic stability; apolipoprotein dissociation; lipoprotein fusion; reverse cholesterol transport; structural disorder; atherosclerosis High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) are heterogeneous complexes 7-13 nm in diameter that are composed of several major proteins (termed apolipoproteins), many minor proteins, and variable amounts of lipid molecules. Plasma concentrations of HDL and its major protein, apoA-I (243 a.a.), correlate inversely with the risk of developing coronary artery disease (reviewed in (1,2)). This cardioprotection results from the central role of HDLs in reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) and from their anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory action (3). RCT is the sole pathway of cholesterol removal from peripheral tissues to the liver for excretion or to steroidogenic organs for hormone synthesis (1). During RCT, cell cholesterol is taken up by nascent discoidal HDLs or their lipid-poor precursors (4), esterified by lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT), and sequestered in the core of HDLs, thereby converting them to mature spherical particles (Fig. 1, ...

HDLs prevent atherosclerosis by removing excess cell cholesterol. Lipid composition affects HDL functions in cholesterol removal, yet its effects on the disk stability remain unclear. We hypothesize that reduced length or increased cis-unsaturation of phosphatidylcholine acyl chains destabilize discoidal HDL and promote protein dissociation and lipoprotein fusion. To test this hypothesis, we determined thermal stability of binary complexes reconstituted from apoC-I and diacyl PCs containing 12-18 carbons with 0-2 cis-double bonds. Kinetic analysis using circular dichroism shows that, for fully saturated PCs, chain length increase by two carbons stabilizes lipoprotein by dDG* (37°C) ≅ 1.4 kcal/mol, suggesting that hydrophobic interactions dominate the disk stability; distinct effects of pH and salt indicate contribution of electrostatic interactions. Similarly, apoA-I-containing disks show increased stability with increasing chain length. Acyl chain unsaturation reduces disk stability. In summary, stability of discoidal HDL correlates directly with fatty acyl chain length and saturation: the longer and more fully saturated are the chains, the more extensive are the stabilizing lipid-protein and lipid-lipid interactions and the higher is the free energy barrier for protein dissociation and lipoprotein fusion. This sheds new light on the existing data of cholesterol efflux to discoidal HDL and suggests that moderate lipoprotein destabilization facilitates cholesterol insertion.-Guha, M., D. L. Gantz, and O. Gursky. Effects of acyl chain length, unsaturation, and pH on thermal stability of model discoidal HDLs. J. Lipid Res.

The advanced glycation end products (AGEs) of DNA nucleobases have received little attention, perhaps due to the fact that adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine do not dissolve under mild pH conditions. To maintain nucleobases in solution, alkaline pH conditions are typically required. The objectives of this investigation were twofold: to study the susceptibility of DNA nucleobases to nonenzymatic attack by different sugars, and to evaluate the factors that influence the formation of nucleobase AGEs at pH 12, i.e., in an alkaline environment that promotes the aldo-keto isomerization and epimerization of sugars. Varying concentrations of adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine were incubated over time with constant concentrations of D-glucose, D-galactose or D/L-glyceraldehyde under different conditions of temperature and ionic strength. Incubation of the nucleobases with the sugars resulted in a heterogeneous assembly of AGEs whose formation was monitored by UV/fluorescence spectroscopy. Capillary electrophoresis and HPLC were used to resolve the AGEs of the DNA adducts and provided a powerful tool for following the extent of glycation in each of the DNA nucleobases. Mass spectrometry studies of DNA adducts of guanine established that glycation at pH 12 proceeded through an Amadori intermediate.

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