Abstract
The objective of this work was to study the profile of fatty acids and to search for associations of fatty acids with oxidative-antioxidant parameters and an oxidative-inflammatory biomarker (lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2) in men with coronary atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Analysis of 20 fatty acids was performed in 60 men with angiographically confirmed coronary atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease and in a control group of men without coronary heart disease. Serum fatty-acid content was evaluated by high-performance gas-liquid chromatography. The blood levels of oxidative stress, total antioxidative defence, and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase 2 were analyzed. In the group of men with coronary atherosclerosis the levels of myristic and palmitic fatty acids were higher by 59% and 22%, respectively. An increase in the weight percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids was noted, such as palmitoleic, oleic, and octadecenic. Significantly lower levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as linolic, eicosadienoic, eicosatrienoic, arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic, glinolenic, docosapentaenoic, and docosahexaenoic were detected in the group with coronary atherosclerosis. The lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 level was higher by 48%. Oxidative stress was higher by 17%, and the total antioxidant defence in serum was lower by 45%. We found correlations between fatty acids and oxidative-antioxidative alterations. The relative risk of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques correlated with increased levels of palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linolic fatty acids. Significant alterations in the profile of fatty acids are associated with oxidative-antioxidative alterations and are accompanied by an increase in free-radical formation, which can probably serve as a risk factor of atherosclerosis.
Highlights
There is significant interest in the problem of lipid accumulation in the arterial wall in atherosclerosis
Significant alterations in the profile of fatty acids are associated with oxidative-antioxidative alterations and are accompanied by an increase in free-radical formation, which can probably serve as a risk factor of atherosclerosis
Studies that are intended to reveal the role of fatty acids (FAs) in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis have been growing in number, and priority is given to the separate contribution of every FA instead of the whole set of FAs [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
Summary
There is significant interest in the problem of lipid accumulation in the arterial wall in atherosclerosis. FAs are believed to play a dual role in atherogenesis. Saturated FAs (SFAs) increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, whereas unsaturated FAs suppress atherosclerosis development, and the latter effect is associated with a reduction in the total cholesterol level and with a shift of some cholesterol into high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) and accumulation of polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) inside phospholipids in cells [1, 5, 8]. A modification of the FAs composition of the blood can play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), an enzyme whose increased level in the circulation is linked with a high risk of atherosclerotic-plaque destabilization, is being actively studied. This enzyme has been suggested to be a highly specific marker of intravascular inflammation [9]
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