| Abstract: | During the action of phospholipase A2 on low-density serum lipoproteins (LDL) in the presence of serum albumin as adsorbent for low-molecular-weight products of lipolysis a change takes place in the physicochemical properties of the LDL, expressed as a decrease in their flotation coefficients. Lipase hydrolyzes the triglycerides of LDL after preliminary treatment of the latter with phospholipase A2. Under the influence of lipases the LDL residue becomes insoluble and a cholesterol-rich precipitate is formed. Loss of solubility of lipoproteins following treatment with lipases and proteases may take place in certain states in vivo and may provide the basis for the formation of atheromas, i.e., it may be one of the factors in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Biopolymers, Institute of Biological and Medical Chemistry, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR V. N. Orekhovich.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 84, No. 8, pp. 173–175, August, 1977. |
