OxPL tagged posts

Oxidized lipids—fats structurally altered by enzymes, oxygen or free radicals—are double-edged swords that can both quell and ignite systemic inflammation, according to a new comprehensive review aimed at sharpening the overall understanding of an intricate class of highly reactive molecules.

Dr. Marco Di Gioia and Dr. Ivan Zanoni, two medical investigators from the divisions of immunology and gastroenterology at Harvard Medical School, explored this complex molecular universe by focusing on a class of compounds called oxidized phospholipids—oxPLs.

In their article published in Science Immunology, they explored why sharp differences in oxPL activity can have favorable or unfavorable biological outcomes...

The aorta of a mouse model of atherosclerosis on a high-fat diet for 12 months (top) has significantly more plaques (bright red) than the aorta of the same type of mouse that also produces the anti-inflammatory E06 antibody (bottom). Credit: UC San Diego Health

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine discovered that they can block inflammation in mice with a naturally occurring antibody that binds oxidized phospholipids (OxPL), molecules on cell surfaces that get modified by inflammation. Even while on a high-fat diet, the antibody protected the mice from arterial plaque formation, hardening of the arteries and liver disease, and prolonged their lives.

This study, published June 6 by Nature, marks the first demonstration in a living system that OxPL triggers in...