Unexpected dose response of copper concentration on lipoprotein oxidation in serum: discovery of a unique peroxidase-like activity of urate/albumin in the presence of high copper concentrations.

Oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) may be an important factor in atherogenesis. The susceptibility of LDL to oxidation is usually determined in isolation by exposing LDL to oxidative stress induced by Cu ions or a free radical initiator. In these cases oxidation is carried out in the absence of water-soluble vitamins or serum proteins that may be present at the site of oxidation in vivo. We have examined the Cu2+-induced oxidation of lipoproteins in diluted serum. When oxidizing isolated LDL, there is a decrease in lag time with increasing concentration of Cu2+ until a minimum "lag time" is reached at a Cu:LDL ratio of about 50:1. In serum, we have shown an initial decrease in "lag time" with increasing Cu concentration up to 12.5 microM. However, with higher Cu concentrations "lag time" to oxidation increases, contrary to expectation, until a maximum is reached at about 50 microM Cu. This dose response observed for Cu oxidation of diluted serum was highly reproducible in a number of individual subjects. When serum was gel-filtered to remove low molecular weight compounds, the resulting filtrate behaved the same as isolated LDL. Uric acid was found to be an important component of the low molecular weight fraction responsible for the paradoxical effect of Cu concentration on serum oxidation. The same paradoxical effect was found when isolated LDL was incubated with uric acid in the presence of human serum albumin (HSA) and Cu. The incubation of HSA with reducing agents such as uric acid or bilirubin in the presence of high Cu concentrations, produces a "peroxidase-like" activity, capable of breaking down hydrogen peroxide as well as lipid hydroperoxides. The decomposition of lipid peroxides is a likely explanation for the longer serum oxidation lag times seen at higher Cu concentrations. Our study highlights the possible importance of interactions between uric acid and serum proteins in the presence of high metal ion concentrations.