Endocrine Abstracts

Lipid peroxidation is linked with several metabolic diseases. Lipid peroxidation causes cellular damage through reactive aldehyde species such as 4-hydroxyonenal (4-HNE). The exact mechanism(s) by which 4-HNE causes damage in the intravascular compartment is not exactly known. Using an in vitro system, we investigated the damage induced by 4-HNE on the blood by measuring protein carbonyl groups and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) following 4-HNE treatment. We showed that treatment with 4-HNE increased the carbonylation of proteins and the formation of TBARS in the blood plasma. We also tested whether phenelzine, a scavenger of aldehyde species, or U-83836E, a scavenger of lipid peroxy radicals, attenuates the damage caused by 4-HNE. We showed that phenelzine or U-83836E can both mitigate the effects of 4-HNE on the proteins and the lipids of the blood plasma. We explained the above results through a model that involves secondary lipid peroxidation reactions initiated by 4-HNE.