The ambivalence of vitamin E in atherogenesis.
The early events in atherogenesis might be due to the oxidation of low- density lipoprotein. The antioxidant vitamin E, therefore, has received much attention as a potential anti-atherogenic agent. Recent mechanistic studies of the early stage of lipoprotein-lipid oxidation show that the role of vitamin E in this process is not simply that of a classical antioxidant. Unless additional compounds are present, vitamin E can have antioxidant, neutral or pro-oxidant activity. This more complex function is reflected in the results of vitamin-E-intervention studies of atherosclerosis in animals and of controlled prospective trials on the incidence of cardiovascular disease in humans, which, overall, are inconclusive.
Stocker
R
R
Biochemistry Group, The Heart Research Institute, 145 Missenden Rd, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia. r.stocker@hri.org.au
D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008954:Models, Biological; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000502:physiology*
D014810:Vitamin E