LOX-1 mediates lysophosphatidylcholine-induced oxidized LDL uptake in smooth muscle cells.

A novel receptor for oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL), lectin-like OxLDL receptor (LOX-1), was cloned from endothelial cells. Since OxLDL is taken up by vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) in atheroma, we analyzed the inducible expression of LOX-1 in VSMC in the present study. Incubation of cultured bovine VSMC with lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), an atherogenic component of OxLDL, increased the level of mRNA for LOX-1 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Since LPC did not significantly change the half-life of LOX-1 mRNA, the induction seemed to occur at the transcriptional level. The induction accompanied an increase in the protein level of LOX-1 and activity of OxLDL uptake. Blocking antibody against LOX-1 significantly suppressed the enhanced uptake of OxLDL. Thus, LOX-1 is a major receptor for OxLDL in VSMC as in endothelial cells. The enhanced expression of LOX-1 by LPC suggests that OxLDL and LPC would progressively change the function of VSMC and accelerate atherogenesis in vivo.