title: Lipoprotein oxidation in cardiovascular disease: chief culprit or innocent bystander?
abstract: Oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is thought to contribute to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Consistent with this idea, the antioxidant drug probucol reduces the risk of restenosis, a form of cardiovascular disease, in humans. However, a new study now suggests that the protective effect of probucol depends not on its ability to inhibit lipid oxidation, but on its ability to induce the stress-induced antiinflammatory enzyme heme oxygenase (HO)-1. This might explain why other antioxidants, such as vitamin E, fail to prevent cardiovascular disease in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. heinecke@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: Jay W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Heinecke
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction
chemical_list: D008074:Lipoproteins