Lipid peroxidation and vitamin E in human coronary atherosclerotic lesions

Background: We aimed to assess the oxidant/antioxidant status within the ex vivo human coronary endarterectomy samples. Methods: To achieve this, we measured products of lipid oxidation (malondialdehyde, 7-ketocholesterol), lipids (cholesterol, cholesteryl esters) and vitamin E in endarterectomy samples. Results: Content of malondialdehyde in the plaque ranged from 0.23 to 37.36 μg/g. Unesterified cholesterol content ranged from 0.30 to 1.94 mg/g. It was 9.04±4.32% of total cholesterol. Total cholesterol content ranged from 1.73 to 23.69 mg/g. Cholesteryl palmitate content ranged from 0.57 to 19.10 mg/g, which is 11.43–60.86% of the total esters (mean±SD 40.27±18.42%). Cholesteryl oleate content ranged from 0.24 to 5.76 mg/g, being 9.97–21.81% of total esters (mean±SD 14.35±4.51%). Cholesteryl linoleate content ranged from 1.05 to 8.21 mg/g, being 17.84–45.15% of total esters (mean±SD 30.78±11.69%). Cholesteryl arachidonate content ranged from 0.51 to 4.20 mg/g, which is 7.56–22.87% of total esters (mean±SD 14.60±5.60%). The cholesteryl linoleate/cholesteryl oleate ratio (CL/CO) ranged from 1.01 to 4.33. Content of 7-ketocholesterol in the plaque ranged from 0.0 to 577.5 ng/g of wet weight. The 7-ketocholesterol/total cholesterol ratio was 0.003±0.003% (range from 0.0% to 0.008%). The 7-ketocholesterol/unesterified cholesterol ratio was 0.024±0.023% (range from 0.0% to 0.066%). The plaque content of vitamin E ranged from 0.0 to 40.9 μg/g of wet weight. Conclusion: The present study, comprising measurements of lipids, products of lipid peroxidation and vitamin E in 12 human coronary endarterectomy samples, lends the evidence for ongoing lipid peroxidation within an atherosclerotic lesion.