Monoclonal antibodies against LDL progressively oxidized by myeloperoxidase react with ApoB-100 protein moiety and human atherosclerotic lesions

Oxidized-LDL are involved in atherosclerosis pathogenesis, while the production of anti-ox-LDL monoclonal antibodies is critical for the development of diagnostic tools. This work reports the production of four monoclonal antibodies raised against human LDL, oxidized at different levels by the myeloperoxidase system. Characterization of these monoclonal antibodies showed that they do not cross-react with neither native LDL, VLDL nor hydrogen peroxide or Cu(2+)-oxidized LDL. Three of these antibodies recognize an epitope restricted to the protein moiety of mildly oxidized LDL, whereas the fourth antibody was partly dependent on the lipid presence of strongly oxidized LDL. All the antibodies were shown to react with human atherosclerotic lesions.