This is an older study (2001) but it addresses an evolving topic - the "chameleon-like" quality of HDL cholesterol - sometimes anti-inflammatory, sometimes pro-inflammatory:HDL and the Inflammatory Response Induced by LDL-Derived Oxidized Phospholipids, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 2001
The development of fatty streaks in arteries results in part from an inflammatory response, one that involves the oxidation of phospholipids in LDL cholesterol.
HDL is “good” or anti-inflammatory when:
"In the sense that normal HDL can prevent the formation of or inactivate these inflammatory LDL-derived oxidized phospholipids, normal HDL is anti-inflammatory."HDL can become pro-inflammatory during an acute-phase reaction:
“In contrast, during an acute-phase [AP] reaction, AP-HDL favors the conversion of LDL to the proinflammatory [mildly-oxidized]-LDL.”An acute-phase reaction can be the result of an infection, or it may be a chronic acute-phase reaction - such as the low-grade systemic inflammation associated with being overweight.
This link between HDL and LDL, and their pro-inflammatory nature during an acute-phase reaction, “probably evolved to protect against infection, particularly in the young, and appears to be activated in susceptible mouse strains by an atherogenic diet.”
