Does superoxide radical have a role in macrophage-mediated oxidative modification of LDL?

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation induced by superoxide radicals generated in a cell-free system could not stimulate the subsequent development of high-uptake LDL during incubation in a medium normally permissive for cell-mediated oxidation. Similarly, LDL oxidative modification by macrophages was not accelerated when extracellular superoxide generation was increased 5-10-fold by stimulation of NADPH oxidase. The NADPH oxidase inhibitor, diphenylene iodonium, did inhibit macrophage-mediated modification of LDL, but its effects do not appear to involve superoxide generation. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) was shown to be inappropriate as a test for the involvement of superoxide radicals in cell-mediated oxidation due to its metal-chelating properties and to the development of a pro-oxidant activity by heat inactivation. We conclude that there is presently no secure evidence for the involvement of superoxide radical in macrophage-mediated oxidative modification of LDL.