Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2021 Aug 19;208:112053. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2021.112053. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Solution acidification exists under some physiological conditions (e.g. lysosomes in cells) and diseases (e.g. atherosclerosis, tumors, etc.). It is poorly understood whether and how acidification influences the size and biomechanical (stiffness and stickiness) properties of native Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and its oxidized form (oxLDL) which plays a vital role in atherogenesis and tumorigenesis. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) evaluated that gradient acidification from pH 7.4 to pH 4.4 caused an expanding-first-and-then-shrinking decrease in size and a dramatic decrease in stiffness (but no statistically significant changes in stickiness) of LDL/oxLDL particles by influencing secondary/tertiary structures and lipid release detected by infrared spectral analysis and cholesterol detection, respectively. The smaller and softer characteristics of LDL/oxLDL at acidic conditions versus at the neutral pH partially explains the atherogenic role of acidification. The data may provide important information for a better understanding of LDL/oxLDL and some diseases (e.g. atherosclerosis and tumors).
PMID:34438294 | DOI:10.1016/j.colsurfb.2021.112053
