[Significance of eicosanoids for arteriosclerosis and the effect of lipoproteins on prostanoid formation].

In a review the possible relevance of the eicosanoid system for arteriosclerosis is outlined. Particularly the interdependence between prostacyclin and thromboxane regarding the development of arteriosclerosis is discussed. Own findings show the influence of lipoproteins on the synthesis of prostacyclin or thromboxane in different biological material. On the one hand, HDL stimulates the synthesis of prostacyclin, whereas LDL inhibits it; both of them were sampled from human volunteers. On the other hand, the synthesis of thromboxane is inhibited by HDL and stimulated by LDL. The results indicate the close relationship between the lipoprotein and the eicosanoid hypotheses of arteriosclerosis.