Abstract: Aim To study the size and susceptibility of low density lipoprotein (LDL) particles in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF).Methods Plasma LDL in 30 CRF patients and 26 control subjects were analyzed by 2%～16% non-denaturing poly acrylamide gradient gels.The continuous monitoring of LDL oxidation by absorbance measurement at 234 nm was performed to analyze the susceptibility of LDL to Cu²⁺ mediated oxidation in CRF patients.Results In LDL particle diameters no dif ference was found between the CRF patients and control subjects[(26.35±0.59) nm vs (26.41±0.95) nm, P>0.05]. The dist ribution of LDL subfraction pat tern also had no difference between two groups.LDL particle diameter was neg atively correlated with plasma t riglycerides (r=-0.26, P<0.05).However, the lagtime in the test for LDL oxidizabilty in CRF patients was signif icantly sho rter than that in the controls [(56.2±23.7) minvs (97.3±41.2) min, P<0.05].Conclusion Circulating LDL in CRF patients was more susceptible to oxidation in vitro than that of controls.This may be associated with increased risk for coronary artery disease.

Key words: LDL, chronic renal failure, atherosclerosis