Low Density Lipoprotein Oxidation and Its Pathobiological Significance

Abstract

The fact that low density lipoprotein (LDL) 1The abbreviations used are: LDL, low density lipoprotein; SRA, scavenger receptor A; MM-LDL, minimally oxidized LDL; MCSF, macrophage colony-stimulating factor; OxLDL, oxidized LDL; apoB, apolipoprotein B; MCP-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. is extremely susceptible to oxidative damage has been known for some time (1Ray B.R. Davisson E.O. Crespi H.L. J. Phys. Chem. 1954; 58: 841-846Crossref Scopus (36) Google Scholar, 2Schuh J. Fairclough G.F. Haschemeyer R.H. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 1978; 75: 3173-3177Crossref PubMed Scopus (256) Google Scholar), but until quite recently this was primarily a nuisance for the student of lipoprotein metabolism. It now appears that oxidation of LDL plays a significant role in atherogenesis. Beginning in the 1980s evidence began to accumulate that cholesterol accumulation in the developing atherosclerotic lesion was probably not due to the uptake of native LDL by way of the Brown/Goldstein LDL receptor but instead due to the uptake of some modified form of LDL (then still unidentified) by way of one or more alternative receptors (also then unidentified). This conclusion grew from two well accepted observations. First, patients and animals totally lacking the LDL receptor nevertheless accumulate cholesterol in foam cells much the same way as do patients and animals with normal LDL receptors; second, the two cell types in lesions that give rise to cholesterol-laden foam cells (the monocyte/macrophage and the smooth muscle cell) do not accumulate cholesterol in vitro even in the presence of very high concentrations of native LDL (3Basu S.K. Brown M.S. Ho Y.K. Goldstein J.L. J. Biol. Chem. 1979; 254: 7141-7146Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Google Scholar, 4Weinstein D.B. Carew T.E. Steinberg D. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1976; 424: 404-421Crossref PubMed Scopus (82) Google Scholar). This paradox could be resolved if circulating LDL underwent some form of modification and if the modified form, rather than native LDL itself, then served as the ligand for delivery of cholesterol to developing foam cells. Acetylation of LDL in vitro generated a modified LDL that could induce cholesterol accumulation in macrophages (3Basu S.K. Brown M.S. Ho Y.K. Goldstein J.L. J. Biol. Chem. 1979; 254: 7141-7146Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Google Scholar). The uptake of this acetylated LDL was by way of a new receptor designated theacetyl LDL receptor (later cloned and renamed scavenger receptor A (SRA) (5Kodama T. Freeman M. Rohrer L. Zabrecky J. Matsudaira P. Krieger M. Nature. 1990; 343: 531-535Crossref PubMed Scopus (843) Google Scholar). SRA, unlike the LDL receptor, is notdown-regulated when the cholesterol content of the cell increases. Thus, acetyl LDL could, in principle, account for foam cell formation. However, there was (and still is) no evidence that acetylation of LDL occurs to any extent in vivo. Another modified form of LDL emerged as a candidate when it was shown that simply incubating LDL overnight with a monolayer of arterial endothelial cells converted it to a form that was taken up much more rapidly by macrophages and capable of increasing their cellular cholesterol content (6Henriksen T. Mahoney E.M. Steinberg D. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 1981; 78: 6499-6503Crossref PubMed Scopus (817) Google Scholar, 7Henriksen T. Mahoney E.M. Steinberg D. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1982; 401: 102-116Crossref PubMed Scopus (65) Google Scholar, 8Henriksen T. Mahoney E.M. Steinberg D. Arteriosclerosis. 1983; 3: 149-159Crossref PubMed Google Scholar). The uptake was specific and saturable, and it occurred in part by way of the acetyl LDL receptor. Incubation with smooth muscle cells could also modify LDL in much the same way (7Henriksen T. Mahoney E.M. Steinberg D. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1982; 401: 102-116Crossref PubMed Scopus (65) Google Scholar, 8Henriksen T. Mahoney E.M. Steinberg D. Arteriosclerosis. 1983; 3: 149-159Crossref PubMed Google Scholar). This cell-mediated modification turned out to be, very simply, oxidative modification (9Steinbrecher U.P. Parthasarathy S. Leake D.S. Witztum J.L. Steinberg D. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 1984; 81: 3883-3887Crossref PubMed Scopus (1416) Google Scholar, 10Morel D.W. DiCorleto P.E. Chisolm G.M. Arteriosclerosis. 1984; 4: 357-364Crossref PubMed Google Scholar). The addition of antioxidants to the culture medium completely blocked cell-induced modification, and the changes induced by the cells could be duplicated by incubating LDL in the presence of transition metals in the absence of cells. Thus, oxidative modification induced by cells appeared to be a biologically plausible modification of LDL that could account for foam cell formation and the initiation, or at least acceleration, of the atherosclerotic process. Between 1985 and 1989, 62 papers were published about "oxidized LDL"; between 1992 and January 1997, 727 papers were published about "oxidized LDL." This intense interest springs largely from the increasing evidence that oxidative modification of LDL plays a significant role in experimental atherosclerosis and thus may represent a target for interventions to slow the progress of the disease (11Steinberg D. Parthasarathy S. Carew T.E. Khoo J.C. Witztum J.L. N. Engl. J. Med. 1989; 320: 915-924Crossref PubMed Google Scholar,12Steinberg D. Circulation. 1997; 95: 1062-1071Crossref PubMed Scopus (703) Google Scholar). This review is limited to oxidative modification of LDL, but it should be noted that other modified forms of LDL (e.g. aggregated LDL or LDL-containing immune complexes) can also induce foam cell formation and could contribute to atherogenesis (13Khoo J.C. Miller E. McLoughlin P. Steinberg D. Arteriosclerosis. 1988; 8: 348-358Crossref PubMed Google Scholar, 14Klimov A.N. Denisenko A.D. Popov A.V. Nagornev V.A. Pleskov V.M. Vinogradov A.G. Denisenko T.V. Magracheva E.Y. Atherosclerosis. 1985; 58: 1-15Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (80) Google Scholar, 15Khoo J.C. Miller E. Pio F. Steinberg D. Witztum J.L. Arterioscler. Thromb. 1992; 12: 1258-1266Crossref PubMed Scopus (86) Google Scholar). To put the following discussion of oxidized LDL and its pathobiological effects into a context, we begin with a brief summary of current views on the initiation of the atherosclerotic lesion. More detailed discussions are available elsewhere (12Steinberg D. Circulation. 1997; 95: 1062-1071Crossref PubMed Scopus (703) Google Scholar, 16Ross R. Nature. 1993; 362: 801-809Crossref PubMed Scopus (9971) Google Scholar). An increase in plasma LDL levels leads to an increase in the adherence of circulating monocytes to arterial endothelial cells and at the same time to an increased rate of entry of LDL into the intima, resulting in a higher steady state concentration of LDL in the intima. There the LDL can undergo oxidative modification catalyzed by any of the major cell types found in arterial lesions, i.e. endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, or macrophages. Even minimally oxidized LDL (MM-LDL) can increase adherence and penetration of monocytes, in part by stimulating release of MCP-1 from endothelial cells (17Cushing S.D. Berliner J.A. Valente A.J. Territo M.C. Navab M. Parhami F. Gerrity R. Schwartz C.J. Fogelman A.M. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 1990; 87: 5134-5138Crossref PubMed Scopus (971) Google Scholar). MM-LDL can also stimulate release of MCSF, which can induce differentiation of the monocyte into a cell with the phenotypic pattern of the tissue macrophage, including an increase in expression of SRA (18Rajavashisth T.B. Andalibi A. Territo M.C. Berliner J.A. Navab M. Fogelman A.M. Lusis A.J. Nature. 1990; 344: 254-257Crossref PubMed Scopus (609) Google Scholar). More fully oxidized LDL (OxLDL) is itself directly chemotactic for monocytes, and it is also, of course, one of the major ligands for SRA and other receptors on the arterial macrophage that contribute to foam cell formation. Soon after a lesion is initiated there is fragmentation of the internal elastic membrane and migration of smooth muscle cells from the media up into the intima. These smooth muscle cells do not normally express SRA but can be induced to do so (19Dejager S. Mietus-Snyder M. Friera A. Pitas R.E. J. Clin. Invest. 1993; 92: 894-902Crossref PubMed Scopus (27) Google Scholar). This may be the basis for the contribution that smooth muscle cells make to the foam cell population. A centrally important point is that the fatty streak lesion, while being clinically silent itself, is the precursor of the more complex lesions that cause stenosis and limited blood flow. These complex lesions ultimately represent the sites of thrombosis leading to myocardial infarction. As already mentioned, the first property of oxidized LDL to be discovered that makes it more atherogenic than native LDL is that it is recognized by the scavenger receptors and can therefore give rise to foam cells (7Henriksen T. Mahoney E.M. Steinberg D. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1982; 401: 102-116Crossref PubMed Scopus (65) Google Scholar). Additional potentially proatherogenic properties became apparent soon thereafter, including the fact that OxLDL is itself a chemoattractant for monocytes (20Quinn M.T. Parthasarathy S. Fong L.G. Steinberg D. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 1987; 84: 2995-2998Crossref PubMed Scopus (962) Google Scholar) and that it inhibits the motility of tissue macrophages (21Quinn M.T. Parthasarathy S. Steinberg D. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 1985; 82: 5949-5953Crossref PubMed Scopus (179) Google Scholar). Oxidized LDL is cytotoxic for endothelial cells in culture (22Hessler J.R. Morel D.W. Lewis L.J. Chisolm G.M. Arteriosclerosis. 1983; 3: 215-222Crossref PubMed Google Scholar); it inhibits the vasodilatation that is normally induced by NO (23Kugiyama K. Kerns S.A. Morrisett J.D. Roberts R. Henry P.D. Nature. 1990; 344: 160-162Crossref PubMed Scopus (780) Google Scholar); it is mitogenic for macrophages and smooth muscle cells (24Yui S. Sasaki T. Miyazaki A. Horiuchi S. Yamazaki M. Arterioscler. Thromb. 1993; 13: 331-337Crossref PubMed Scopus (104) Google Scholar, 25Chatterjee S. Ghosh N. Glycobiology. 1996; 6: 303-311Crossref PubMed Scopus (65) Google Scholar); it can stimulate the release of MCP-1 and MCSF from endothelial cells (17Cushing S.D. Berliner J.A. Valente A.J. Territo M.C. Navab M. Parhami F. Gerrity R. Schwartz C.J. Fogelman A.M. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 1990; 87: 5134-5138Crossref PubMed Scopus (971) Google Scholar, 18Rajavashisth T.B. Andalibi A. Territo M.C. Berliner J.A. Navab M. Fogelman A.M. Lusis A.J. Nature. 1990; 344: 254-257Crossref PubMed Scopus (609) Google Scholar). OxLDL is immunogenic, and autoantibodies are commonly found both in animals and patients (26Palinski W. Tangirala R.K. Miller E. Young S.G. Witztum J.L. Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 1995; 15: 1569-1576Crossref PubMed Scopus (215) Google Scholar, 27Salonen J.T. Yla-Herttuala S. Yamamoto R. Butler S. Korpela H. Salonen R. Nyyssonen K. Palinski W. Witztum J.L. Lancet. 1992; 339: 883-887Abstract PubMed Scopus (1197) Google Scholar, 28Palinski W. Horkko S. Miller E. Steinbrecher U.P. Powell H.C. Curtiss L.K. Witztum J.L. J. Clin. Invest. 1996; 98: 800-814Crossref PubMed Scopus (501) Google Scholar). Titers tend to be higher in patients with more rapidly progressive disease (27Salonen J.T. Yla-Herttuala S. Yamamoto R. Butler S. Korpela H. Salonen R. Nyyssonen K. Palinski W. Witztum J.L. Lancet. 1992; 339: 883-887Abstract PubMed Scopus (1197) Google Scholar), but, paradoxically, immunization of rabbits with OxLDL to raise antibody titer actually inhibits lesion progression (29Palinski W. Miller E. Witztum J.L. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 1995; 92: 821-825Crossref PubMed Scopus (524) Google Scholar). There are as many as 20 additional biological effects that have been described, but almost none of these has been evaluated in vivo. In any case, these examples will suffice to demonstrate that the oxidative modification of LDL leads to a possibly very large array of consequences above and beyond the generation of foam cells that could be important in atherogenesis. It is important also to stress that some of these biological effects can be exercised by minimally modified LDL. Many of these appear to be attributable to partially oxidized phospholipids that may mimic the effects of platelet-activating factor or of autacoids (30Berliner J.A. Navab M. Fogelman A.M. Frank J.S. Demer L.L. Edwards P.A. Watson A.D. Lusis A.J. Circulation. 1995; 91: 2488-2496Crossref PubMed Scopus (1583) Google Scholar, 31Heery J.M. Kozak M. Stafforini D.M. Jones D.A. Zimmerman G.A. McIntyre T.M. Prescott S.M. J. Clin. Invest. 1995; 96: 2322-2330Crossref PubMed Scopus (276) Google Scholar). The immunogenicity of OxLDL appears also to be attributable in part to oxidized phospholipids, possibly complexed with protein or other lipids (32Horkko S. Miller E. Dudl E. Reaven P. Curtiss L.K. Zvaifler N.J. Terkeltaub R. Pierangeli S.S. Branch D.W. Palinski W. Witztum J.L. J. Clin. Invest. 1996; 98: 815-825Crossref PubMed Scopus (324) Google Scholar,33Itabe H. Yamamoto H. Imanaka T. Shimamura K. Uchiyama H. Kimura J. Sanaka T. Hata Y. Takano T. J. Lipid Res. 1996; 37: 45-53Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Google Scholar). Before leaving this topic, it is worth noting, as discussed further below, that oxidation of the lipid-protein matrix of a plasma membrane is somewhat analogous to the oxidation of an LDL particle. Just as oxidized LDL can exert a number of effects, including regulation of gene expression, oxidation of the plasma membrane of a cell may give rise to analogous biological effects that could be relevant during apoptosis or under conditions of high oxidative stress. Originally, oxidized LDL was defined primarily in terms of its biological properties, notably the fact that it was no longer a ligand for the native LDL receptor but was a ligand for the acetyl LDL receptor and that its uptake by macrophages was therefore much more rapid, sufficient to cause cholesterol accumulation. This degree of oxidation could be effected by incubation overnight with cultured cells in the appropriate medium or by incubation with 5–10 μmCu2+ for 8–16 h. Later studies showed that after much gentler oxidative modification (too little to alter its binding by the LDL receptor and yet not enough to make it a ligand for the acetyl LDL receptor) the oxidized LDL had different and potentially very important biological properties of other kinds, including the ability to stimulate the release from endothelial cells of MCP-1 and MCSF (17Cushing S.D. Berliner J.A. Valente A.J. Territo M.C. Navab M. Parhami F. Gerrity R. Schwartz C.J. Fogelman A.M. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 1990; 87: 5134-5138Crossref PubMed Scopus (971) Google Scholar,18Rajavashisth T.B. Andalibi A. Territo M.C. Berliner J.A. Navab M. Fogelman A.M. Lusis A.J. Nature. 1990; 344: 254-257Crossref PubMed Scopus (609) Google Scholar). This minimally oxidized LDL, designated "MM-LDL," is very different from LDL incubated overnight with copper ions, which may deserve to be redesignated as "maximally oxidized LDL." Obviously there is potentially a continuous spectrum of degrees of oxidation and a great deal of molecular heterogeneity in what we call "oxidized LDL" (34Steinberg D. Isr. J. Med. Sci. 1995; 32: 469-472Google Scholar). Even if oxidative conditions are controlled as precisely as possible, the product will still vary from experiment to experiment depending on the composition of the starting LDL. LDL particles rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids are more readily oxidized than are LDL particles enriched in saturated fatty acids or monounsaturated fatty acids (35Reaven P. Parthasarathy S. Grasse B.J. Miller E. Almazan F. Mattson F.H. Khoo J.C. Steinberg D. Witztum J.L. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1991; 54: 701-706Crossref PubMed Scopus (270) Google Scholar). The content of vitamin E and other naturally occurring indigenous antioxidants will influence the susceptibility of LDL preparations to oxidation under any given set of conditions. The enormous complexity of the problem is evident when one considers that the average LDL particle contains about 700 molecules of phospholipids, 600 of free cholesterol, 1600 of cholesterol esters, 185 of triglycerides, and 1 of apolipoprotein B (apoB) containing 4536 amino acid residues! Both the lipids and the protein are subject to oxidation and both are indeed oxidized. Direct oxidative damage to proteins is discussed by Berlett and Stadtman the previous Minireview in this series (74Berlett B.S. Stadtman E.R. J. Biol. Chem. 1997; 272: 20313-20316Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2783) Google Scholar), and almost certainly there is some direct apoB oxidation. Cholesterol is converted to oxysterols, especially at the 7-position. The polyunsaturated fatty acids in cholesterol esters, phospholipids, and triglycerides are subject to free radical-initiated oxidation and can participate in chain reactions that amplify the extent of damage. A key feature of LDL oxidation is the breakdown of these polyunsaturated fatty acids to yield a broad array of smaller fragments, 3–9 carbons in length, including aldehydes and ketones that can become conjugated to other lipids (especially amino lipids) or to the apoB (36Esterbauer H. Jurgens G. Quehenberger O. Koller E. J. Lipid Res. 1987; 28: 495-509Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Google Scholar). For example, malondialdehyde (or other aldehydes) generated during oxidation can form Schiff bases with the ε-amino groups of lysine residues and can go on to generate cross-links between lipid and protein or among lipid molecules. 4-Hydroxynonenal and other α,β-unsaturated aldehydes can conjugate preferentially by Michael addition (37Uchida K. Toyokuni S. Nishikawa K. Kawakishi S. Oda H. Hiai H. Stadtman E.R. Biochemistry. 1994; 33: 12487-12494Crossref PubMed Scopus (230) Google Scholar). During the oxidation of LDL to a form recognized by SRA, 40–50% of the reactive lysine ε-amino groups become masked (38Haberland M.E. Fogelman A.M. Edwards P.A. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 1982; 79: 1712-1716Crossref PubMed Scopus (234) Google Scholar,39Steinbrecher U.P. Witztum J.L. Parthasarathy S. Steinberg D. Arteriosclerosis. 1987; 7: 135-143Crossref PubMed Google Scholar). This may be a sufficient explanation of the shift in receptor specificity because treatment of LDL in vitro with acetic anhydride also generates a form of LDL recognized by SRA when 60% or more of the lysine amino groups are masked. This, then, explains what was somewhat perplexing at first, namely why oxidized LDL and acetyl LDL should have overlapping receptor-binding specificities. In part, at least, it would appear to be because both involve masking of lysine ε-amino groups with consequent changes in protein charge and configuration. As mentioned above, modification of LDL by endothelial cellsin vitro can be completely prevented by the addition of antioxidants such as vitamin E or butylated hydroxytoluene (9Steinbrecher U.P. Parthasarathy S. Leake D.S. Witztum J.L. Steinberg D. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 1984; 81: 3883-3887Crossref PubMed Scopus (1416) Google Scholar). It is almost completely inhibited also by the addition of as little as 5 or 10% fetal calf serum. How, then, can LDL undergo oxidative modification in vivo? Even in the extracellular fluid one would guess that the concentrations of antioxidants (proteins, vitamin C, uric acid, etc.) would be ample to inhibit cell-induced oxidative modification. Logic to the contrary notwithstanding, it doesget oxidized. 1) The lipoprotein from atherosclerotic lesions and contains oxidized LDL, both by its properties and by its by scavenger receptors M. and J. L. J. Scholar); generated oxidized LDL the presence of oxidized LDL (or very to in arterial lesions but not in normal W. M.E. Yla-Herttuala S. S.S. Butler Parthasarathy S. Carew T.E. Steinberg D. Witztum J.L. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 1989; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar); both in animals and in autoantibodies that with oxidized LDL have been in the W. M.E. Yla-Herttuala S. S.S. Butler Parthasarathy S. Carew T.E. Steinberg D. Witztum J.L. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 1989; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar); of antioxidants that can oxidative modification of LDL the progression of atherosclerosis in experimental as discussed in more and this oxidation of LDL is not but it it in in which the LDL is no longer by that so it in plasma or in extracellular macrophages (and other cell types as to a a the of an of the cell membrane to the in a pattern from which large molecules are J.M. S.D. 1990; 15: PubMed Scopus Google Scholar). These are so that the composition of the fluid in can be very rapidly by of the cell membrane up the of the This for example, the levels of cells in to tissue (or to in a this oxidation of but there is to no experimental evidence one way or the acetylated LDL and oxidized LDL from the plasma with a very a of in the or in the This largely extremely uptake into cells and endothelial cells J. Biol. Chem. 1991; Full Text PDF PubMed Google Scholar). These cells express the acetyl LDL receptor and probably other receptors for OxLDL and are in it out of the one would not to oxidized LDL in the plasma at any significant concentration because it would have to be generated at an high the other because MM-LDL is not a ligand for the scavenger it would probably have a not much different from that of native LDL and could up in the plasma LDL in which a of lysine ε-amino groups have been masked not enough to make it a ligand for the scavenger have a even longer than that of native LDL and could, in cell culture have a number of that could in a role in the oxidation of LDL. These the and of these contribute to LDL oxidation in and to what extent is still but of from atherosclerotic lesions the of V.A. J. Clin. Invest. 1995; 96: PubMed Scopus Google Scholar, H. J. S. T. S. J. Med. 1994; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar) and of J. F. D. S. J. J. Biol. 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However, there is no in evidence to one or of these as more important than the oxidation of LDL in the has the it very that oxidation of LDL at many other at sites of of increased at sites of the concentration of LDL in the fluid would be higher than it is in normal extracellular of the by and the conditions for LDL oxidation at sites would be However, LDL oxidation at sites would not have the same as oxidation of LDL in the the LDL oxidized at sites the and is to the LDL in the were to undergo limited oxidation the blood it would have a as discussed above, and it could then be taken up into developing arterial already partially this LDL make an large contribution to the further progression of the lesion. studies have evidence for the presence of oxidized LDL (or at least of to at sites of M. M. Witztum J.L. A. Curtiss L.K. S. D. Am. J. 1996; Google Scholar). The of this to be oxidative modification of LDL plays a significant role in its by an appropriate should slow the progression of the this has now been in different (the LDL the the the the LDL and the and one of different antioxidants butylated and vitamin D. Circulation. 1997; 95: 1062-1071Crossref PubMed Scopus (703) Google review and specific A of studies has been of which were than of the rate of were and 5 An important to be is the antioxidants their on lesion progression because of their properties because of additional biological This is the same of problem that with the of any in In fact the first indeed have additional biological properties that be relevant Med. Biol. 1991; PubMed Google Scholar), including the ability to inhibit release and to increase expression of cholesterol However, the fact that two antioxidants as as and the ability to inhibit atherogenesis that the is attributable primarily to their evidence that the from the in some studies between the of these in circulating LDL from oxidation in an and their in atherogenesis M. A. Carew T.E. Steinberg D. R. J. Clin. Invest. 1994; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar). this time there is to a of the of a from its vivo. It appears that some rather high of be any is evident M. A. Carew T.E. Steinberg D. R. J. Clin. Invest. 1994; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar, J. Steinberg D. Carew T.E. J. Clin. Invest. 1994; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar). Even a of conjugated time commonly used of the of LDL to may still be many are being accepted as when the time is increased as little as OxLDL is and by at least two and possibly different macrophage these receptors tend to have a much ligand specificity than receptors have been designated or receptors M. J. 1994; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar, M. S. J. A. M. D. J. Biol. Chem. 1993; Full Text PDF PubMed Google Scholar). The