Low and very low density lipoprotein composition and resistance to copper-induced oxidation are not notably modified in smokers.

To study whether tobacco use was associated with oxidative phenomena affecting lipoproteins, we estimated susceptibility of LDL and VLDL to an in vitro copper-mediated oxidation, and measured serum autoantibody titers against oxidized LDL in 45 middle-age healthy nonsmokers, 35 smokers and 37 ex-smokers of both sexes, taking into account the detailed lipid composition of the lipoproteins. VLDL from female smokers had higher triglyceride, phospholipid, apolipoprotein E and alpha-tocopherol content and showed a higher rate of copper-induced oxidation in comparison with those from nonsmokers (P < or = 0.05) whereas the relative composition of these particles in saturated, mono- or poly-unsatur…