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Atherosclerosis is a multistep process that progresses over a long period of time and displays a broad range of severity. In its final form, it manifests as a lesion of the intimal layer of the arterial wall. There is strong evidence supporting that oxidative stress contributes to coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality and antioxidant high-density lipoprotein (HDL) could have a beneficial role in the prevention and prognosis of the disease. Indeed, certain subspecies of HDL may act as natural antioxidants preventing oxidation of lipids on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and biological membranes. The antioxidant function may be attributed to inhibition of synthesis or neutralization of free radicals and reactive oxygen species by HDL lipids and associated enzymes or transfer of oxidation prone lipids from LDL and biological membranes to HDL for catabolism. A limited number of clinical trials suggest that the increased antioxidant potential of HDL correlates with decreased risk for atherosclerosis. Some nutritional interventions to increase HDL antioxidant activity have been proposed with limited success so far. The limitations in measuring and understanding HDL antioxidant function in vivo are also discussed.

Apolipoprotein A-Ⅱ (APOA-Ⅱ) is the second most abundant apolipoprotein of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) synthesized mainly by the liver and to a much lesser extent by the intestine. Transgenic mice overexpressing human APOA-Ⅱ present abnormal lipoprotein composition and are prone to atherosclerosis, though in humans the role for APOA-Ⅱ in coronary heart disease remains controversial. Here, we investigated the effects of overexpressed APOA-Ⅱ on HDL structure and function, adipose tissue metabolic activity, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. C57BL/6 mice were infected with an adenovirus expressing human APOA-Ⅱ or a control adenovirus AdGFP, and five days post-infection blood and tissue samples were isolated. APOA-Ⅱ expression resulted in distinct changes in HDL apoproteome that correlated with increased antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. No effects on cholesterol efflux from RAW 264.7 macrophages were observed. Molecular analyses in white adipose tissue (WAT) indicated a stimulation of oxidative phosphorylation coupled with respiration for ATP production in mice overexpressing APOA-Ⅱ. Finally, overexpressed APOA-Ⅱ improved glucose tolerance of mice but had no effect on the response to exogenously administered insulin. In summary, expression of APOA-Ⅱ in C57BL/6 mice results in pleiotropic effects with respect to HDL functionality, adipose tissue metabolism and glucose utilization, many of which are beneficial to health.

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) has been strongly implicated in the development of diet induced obesity. In the present study, we investigated the contribution of brain and peripherally expressed human apolipoprotein E3 (APOE3), the most common human isoform, to diet induced obesity. In our studies APOE3 knock-in (Apoe3 knock-in ), Apoe-deficient (apoe -/- ) and brain-specific expressing APOE3 (Apoe3 brain ) mice were fed western-type diet for 12week and biochemical analyses were performed. Moreover, AAV-mediated gene transfer of APOE3 to apoe -/- mice was employed, as a means to achieve APOE3 expression selectively in periphery, since peripherally expressed APOE does not cross blood brain barrier (BBB) or blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB). Our data suggest a bimodal role of APOE3 in visceral white adipose tissue (WAT) mitochondrial metabolic activation that is highly dependent on its site of expression and independent of postprandial dietary lipid deposition. Our findings indicate that brain APOE3 expression is associated with a potent inhibition of visceral WAT mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, leading to significantly reduced substrate oxidation, increased fat accumulation and obesity. In contrast, peripherally expressed APOE3 is associated with a notable shift of substrate oxidation towards non-shivering thermogenesis in visceral WAT mitochondria, leading to resistance to obesity., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

APOC3 is produced mainly by the liver and intestine and approximately half of plasma APOC3 associates with HDL. Though it was believed that APOC3 associates with HDL by simple binding to preexisting particles, recent data support that biogenesis of APOC3-containing HDL (APOC3-HDL) requires Abca1. Moreover, APOC3-HDL contributes to plasma triglyceride homeostasis by preventing APOC3 association with triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. Interestingly, APOC3-HDL also shows positive correlation with the morbidly obese phenotype. However, the roles of APOC3 in HDL functionality and adipose tissue metabolic activity remain unknown. Therefore, here we investigated the direct effects of APOC3 expression on HDL structure and function, as well as white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) metabolic activity. C57BL/6 mice were infected with an adenovirus expressing human APOC3 or a recombinant attenuated control adenovirus expressing green fluorescent protein and blood and tissue samples were collected at 5 days postinfection. HDL was then analyzed for its apolipoprotein and lipid composition and particle functionality. Additionally, purified mitochondria from BAT and WAT were analyzed for uncoupling protein 1, cytochrome c (Cytc), and Cytc oxidase subunit 4 protein levels as an indirect measure of their metabolic activity. Serum metabolomic analysis was performed by NMR. Combined, our data show that APOC3 modulates HDL structure and function, while it selectively promotes BAT metabolic activation., (Copyright © 2017 by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.)

In addition to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels, HDL quality also appears to be very important for atheroprotection. Analysis of various clinical paradigms suggests that the lipid and apolipoprotein composition of HDL defines its size, shape, and functions and may determine its beneficial effects on human health. Previously, we reported that like apolipoprotein A-I (Apoa1), apolipoprotein E (Apoe) is also capable of promoting the de novo biogenesis of HDL with the participation of ATP binding cassette A lipid transporter member 1 (Abca1) and plasma enzyme lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (Lcat), in a manner independent of a functional Apoa1. Here, we performed a comparative analysis of the functions of these HDL subpopulations. Specifically, Apoe and Apoa1 double-deficient (Apoe(-/-) × Apoa1(-/-)) mice were infected with APOA1- or APOE3-expressing adenoviruses, and APOA1-containing HDL (APOA1-HDL) and APOE3-containing HDL (APOE3-HDL), respectively, were isolated and analyzed by biochemical and physicochemical methods. Western blot and lipidomic analyses indicated significant differences in the apolipoprotein and lipid composition of the two HDL species. Moreover APOE3-HDL presented a markedly reduced antioxidant potential and Abcg1-mediated cholesterol efflux capacity. Surprisingly, APOE3-HDL but not APOA1-HDL attenuated LPS-induced production of TNFα in RAW264.7 cells, suggesting that the anti-inflammatory effects of APOA1 are dependent on APOE expression. Taken together, our data indicate that APOA1 and APOE3 recruit different apolipoproteins and lipids on the HDL particle, leading to structurally and functionally distinct HDL subpopulations. The distinct role of these two apolipoproteins in the modulation of HDL functionality may pave the way toward the development of novel pharmaceuticals that aim to improve HDL functionality.

Emerging evidence strongly supports that changes in the HDL metabolic pathway, which result in changes in HDL proteome and function, appear to have a causative impact on a number of metabolic disorders. Here, we provide a critical review of the most recent and novel findings correlating HDL properties and functionality with various pathophysiological processes and disease states, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, inflammation and sepsis, bone and obstructive pulmonary diseases, and brain disorders., (Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.)

ADAMTSs are a family of secreted proteinases that share the metalloproteinase domain with matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). By acting on a large panel of extracellular substrates, they control several cell functions such as fusion, adhesion, proliferation and migration. Through their thrombospondin motifs they also possess anti-angiogenic properties. We investigated whether ADAMTSs participate in colorectal cancer progression and invasion. Their expression was investigated at both mRNA and protein levels. Using RT-PCR, the expression of ADAMTS-1, -4, -5 and ADAMTS-20 was estimated in colorectal tumors of different cancer stage and anatomic site and 3 cell lines of different aggressiveness. An overexpression of ADAMTS-4 and -5 was observed, especially in tissue samples, whereas ADAMTS-1 and -20 were found to be down-regulated. Western blot analysis further supported the RT-PCR findings, revealing in addition the degradation of ADAMTS-1 and -20 in cancer. In situ expression and localization of ADAMTS-1, -4, -5 and -20 was also investigated by immunohistochemical analysis. Our data suggest a positive correlation between ADAMTS-4 and -5 expression and cancer progression, in contrast with the anti-angiogenic members of the family, ADAMTS-1 and -20, which were found to be down-regulated. Our findings support the notion that overexpression of ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5 in colorectal cancer might be a possible invasive mechanism of cancer cells in order to degrade proteoglycans of ECM.