Mechanisms of lipid peroxidation: iron catalyzed decomposition of fatty acid hydroperoxides as the basis of hydrocarbon evolution in vivo

Iron: deficiencies and requirements

A report from the World Health Organization estimates that 46% of the world's 5- to 14-year-old children are anemic. In addition, 48% of the world's pregnant women are anemic. A majority of these cases of anemia are due to iron deficiency. Our aim here is to review the latest data on iron regulatory mechanisms, iron sources and requirements. Human and animal studies have shown that amino acids and peptides influence iron absorption from the intestinal lumen. Inter-organ transport and uptake of nonheme iron is largely performed by the complex transferring-transferring receptor system. Moreover, the discovery of cytoplasmic iron regulatory proteins (IRPs) has provided a molecular framework from which we understand the coordination of cellular iron homeostasis in mammals. IRPs and the iron responsive elements (IREs) to which they bind allow mammals to make use of the essential properties of iron while reducing its potentially toxic effect. Physiologic iron requirements are three times higher in pregnancy than they are in menstruating women (approximately 1200 mg must be acquired from the body's iron store or from the diet by the end of pregnancy). The administration of iron supplements weekly instead of daily in humans has been proposed and is being actively investigated as a viable means of controlling iron deficiency in populations, including pregnant women.

Both iron deficiency and daily iron supplements increase lipid peroxidation in rats

Numerous studies have shown that iron-loaded diets increase markers of lipid peroxidation in rats, but few have addressed the effects of oral iron supplements on these markers. We investigated the effects of daily and intermittent iron supplements on iron and vitamin E status, and lipid peroxidation. Iron supplements were administered in doses equivalent to those often given to pregnant women in the developing world. In Study 1, iron-deficient (D) and iron-normal (N) rats were fed either 0 or 8000 microgram of supplemental iron daily for 21 d. In Study 2, D rats were fed either the same supplements daily or once every 3 d (8 supplements total). Lipid peroxidation was assessed by breath ethane and pentane and by malondialdehyde (MDA) (using GC-MS). In Study 1, daily supplemented N and D rats had liver nonheme iron concentrations that were 1.8- and 2.7-fold higher, respectively, than those in unsupplemented N rats. Breath ethane levels were also higher in supplemented rats (P < 0.05), but MDA (in plasma, liver, kidney) and liver vitamin E did not differ. Unexpectedly, severely D, anemic rats had significant elevations in the levels of breath ethane, liver MDA and kidney MDA. In Study 2, liver iron and breath ethane decreased progressively (P < 0.05) from 1 d to 3 d after the last iron dose in intermittently supplemented rats. We conclude that iron deficiency results in lipid peroxidation, but that its correction with daily iron supplements results in abnormal iron accumulation and increased lipid peroxidation in rats. These effects are mitigated by intermittent iron supplementation.

Effect of oxygen concentration on production of ethane and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances by peroxidizing lung and liver homogenates and formation of ethanol by peroxidizing docosahexaenoic acid preparations under hyperoxic conditions

The oxygen dependence of ethane formation was investigated in rat lung and liver homogenates, incubated in sealed flasks, in which the peroxidation was stimulated by the addition of ferrous ions. For both tissues, the production of ethane was maximal under a 20% oxygenated gas phase, while hyperoxic conditions led to a decreased ethane in the gas phase. The formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBA-RS), another marker of the lipid peroxidation process, in the homogenates of lung and liver was strongly stimulated at 100% compared to 20% oxygen. Experiments were also carried out on iron-stimulated peroxidation of pure docosahexaenoic acid preparations, which under air led to a large production of ethane. As for tissue homogenates, the TBA-RS content was increased in the presence of 100% oxygen. Those conditions, however, did not induce an increase in ethane production but led to the formation of ethanol. Therefore, the quenching of ethyl radical by molecular oxygen seems to be a very attractive hypothesis to explain the lack of increased ethane production in favor of ethanol when iron-induced lipid peroxidation was stimulated by oxygen.

The potential of the hydrocarbon breath test as a measure of lipid peroxidation

The straight chain aliphatic hydrocarbons ethane and pentane have been advocated as noninvasive markers of free-radical induced lipid peroxidation in humans. In in vitro studies, the evolution of ethane and pentane as end products of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, respectively, correlates very well with other markers of lipid peroxidation and even seems to be the most sensitive test available. In laboratory animals the use of both hydrocarbons as in vivo markers of lipid peroxidation has been validated extensively. Although there are other possible sources of hydrocarbons in the body, such as protein oxidation and colonic bacterial metabolism, these apparently are of limited importance and do not interfere with the interpretation of the hydrocarbon breath test. The production of hydrocarbons relative to that of other end products of lipid peroxidation depends on variables that are difficult to control, such as the local availability of iron(II) ions and dioxygen. In addition, hydrocarbons are metabolized in the body, which especially influences the excretion of pentane. Because of the extremely low concentrations of ethane and pentane in human breath, which often are not significantly higher than those in ambient air, the hydrocarbon breath test requires a flawless technique regarding such factors as: (1) the preparation of the subject with hydrocarbon-free air to wash out ambient air hydrocarbons from the lungs, (2) the avoidance of ambient air contamination of the breath sample by using appropriate materials for sampling and storing, and (3) the procedures used to concentrate and filter the samples prior to gas chromatographic determination. For the gas chromatographic separation of hydrocarbons, open tubular capillary columns are preferred because of their high resolution capacity. Only in those settings where expired hydrocarbon levels are substantially higher than ambient air levels might washout prove to be unnecessary, at least in adults. Although many investigators have concentrated on one marker, it seems preferable to measure both ethane and pentane concurrently. The results of the hydrocarbon breath test are not influenced by prior food consumption, but both vitamin E and beta-carotene supplementation decrease hydrocarbon excretion. Nevertheless, the long-term use of a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as in parenteral nutrition regimens, may result in increased hydrocarbon exhalation. Hydrocarbon excretion slightly increases with increasing age. Short-term increases follow physical and intellectual stress and exposure to hyperbaric dioxygen.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Are ethane and pentane evolution and thiobarbituric acid reactivity specific for lipid peroxidation in erythrocyte membranes?

Peroxidation of human erythrocyte membranes was followed in vitro with head space analysis of ethane and pentane and a thiobarbituric acid assay in a standardized system liberating free oxygen radicals. Simultaneously, the decrease of the membrane palmitic, linoleic, arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acid was monitored. The recoveries of the peroxidation products of the red cell ghost preparations were compared with those obtained by peroxidation of pure fatty acids. Experiments using purified fatty acids revealed that ethane was preferentially produced from docosahexaenoic and linolenic, and pentane from linoleic and arachidonic acids. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive material (TBAR) was produced from each unsaturated fatty acid tested, but the amount was dependent on the number of carbon chain double bonds. During peroxidation of the erythrocyte ghosts, 72% of ethane and 51% pentane were produced during the first 12 h of incubation, whereas TBAR was produced at a constant rate throughout the 36-h test period. Hydrocarbon and TBAR production were similarly inhibited by desferoxamine (at p less than 0.005 and p less than 0.0001, respectively). The total recoveries of ethane, pentane and TBAR exceeded the amount expected by 7.8-, 1.4- and 5.5-fold, respectively. It was concluded that measurement of pentane is a reliable method to monitor lipid peroxidation during oxidative damage of the erythrocyte membrane.

Application of the EPR spin-trapping technique to the detection of radicals produced in vivo during inhalation exposure of rats to ozone

Ozone is known to induce lipid peroxidation of lung tissue, although no direct evidence of free radical formation has been reported. We have used the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin-trapping technique to search for free radicals produced in vivo by ozone exposure. The spin trap alpha-(4-pyridyl-1-oxide)-N-tert-butylnitrone (4-POBN) was administered ip to male Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were then exposed for 2 hr to either 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 ppm ozone with 8% CO2 to increase their respiratory rate. A six-line 4-POBN/radical spin adduct signal (aN = 15.02 G and a beta H = 3.27 G) was detected by EPR spectroscopy in lipid extracts from lungs of rats treated with 4-POBN and then exposed to ozone. Only a weak signal was observed in the corresponding solution from rats exposed to 0 ppm ozone (air with CO2 only). The concentration of the radical adduct increased as a function of ozone concentration. After administration of 4-POBN, rats were exposed for either 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, or 4.0 hr to either 0 or 2.0 ppm ozone (with CO2). The radical adduct concentration of the ozone-exposed groups at exposure times of 2.0 and 4.0 hr was significantly different from that of the corresponding air control groups. A correlation was observed between the radical adduct concentration and the lung weight/body weight ratio. These results demonstrate that ozone induces the production of free radicals in rat lungs during inhalation exposure and that radical production may be involved in the induction of pulmonary toxicity by ozone. This is the first direct evidence for ozone-induced free radical production in vivo.

Inverse relationship of ethane or n-pentane and malondialdehyde formed during lipid peroxidation in rat liver microsomes with different oxygen concentrations

When we incubated rat liver microsomes with ferrous ions and an NADPH-regenerating system, ethane and n-pentane formation increased correspondingly with decreasing concentrations of oxygen in the atmosphere above the incubation, whereas malondialdehyde increased with increasing oxygen concentrations up to a plateau. At very low oxygen concentrations - 100% helium as atmosphere, but presumably traces of oxygen were present in the microsomes - ethane and n-pentane formation were maximal and dependent on the concentrations of ferrous ions, in the case of ethane, a peak being reached at about 20 microM Fe2+, whereas n-pentane continuously increased with increasing concentrations of Fe2+. It is suggested that the inverse relationship of ethane or n-pentane and malondialdehyde is due to two different reaction sequences of microsomal lipid peroxidation with different oxygen sensitivities.

In vivo lipid peroxidation in man as measured by the respiratory excretion of ethane, pentane, and other low-molecular-weight hydrocarbons

A method for the collection and measurement of low-molecular-weight volatile hydrocarbons exhaled in human breath as a result of lipid peroxidation in vivo is described. Subjects breathed in a closed-circuit rebreathe system and samples were taken over a 2-h period, extracted, and analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography isothermally on a 3-m column of n-octane/Porasil-C. Immediately, prior to rebreathing subjects were equilibrated with scrubbed air containing very low ambient levels of hydrocarbons to eliminate the effects of previous exposure to hydrocarbon-contaminated environments. Only under these conditions could hydrocarbon exhalation be measured. In the rebreathe system C3-C5 hydrocarbon concentrations increased linearly initially but reached a steady state after 1.5 h while ethane did not approach equilibrium even after 2 h. The steady-state equilibrium was demonstrated to be due to tissue uptake and metabolism of the hydrocarbon gases. Ethane metabolism was slow, allowing calculation of the endogenous production from the initial rate of change in concentration and an experimentally determined total body solubility coefficient. Similar calculations for pentane were not valid as metabolism was rapid; therefore production was estimated from the equilibrium value reached after 2 h. Ethane production in six healthy subjects was calculated to be 95.1 +/- 19.0 pmol/kg/h while equilibrium values for pentane were 120 +/- 50 pmol/liter. This method now allows the quantitation in man of lipid peroxidation in vivo.

A model of the regional uptake of gaseous pollutants in the lung. I. The sensitivity of the uptake of ozone in the human lung to lower respiratory tract secretions and exercise

An ozone (O3) dosimetry model is presented that takes into account convection and diffusion of O3 in the lumen and airspaces of the lower respiratory tract and transport and chemical reactions in the mucous and surfactant layers and in the underlying tissue and capillaries. The model was applied to human airway morphometric data. Values for the chemical and physical parameters that define the liquid tissue and blood compartments were based on reported experimental data. Simulation results illustrate the variability of results due to an uncertainty in the knowledge of transport parameters, liquid, tissue, and blood compartment thicknesses, and chemical reaction rates. Results were most sensitive to mucous compartment thickness and reaction rate constant and least sensitive to transport and blood parameters. Exercise was simulated, showing little effect on tracheobronchial uptake but a pronounced effect on pulmonary uptake.

Levels of malondialdehyde production in rat liver following loading and unloading with iron

Rats were given daily injections of an iron sorbitol citric acid complex in a total dose of 50 mg Fe3+/100 g of body weight and either killed immediately after iron loading, or investigated 2 months later. Among the latter animals, one group was subjected to weekly phlebotomies in order to mobilize iron from the stores, while another group was not further treated. Quantitation of iron and malondialdehyde production was performed on homogenates of liver, kidney and spleen from controls and rats in the different experimental groups, and the distribution of iron in granular form was studied in the livers by means of electron microscopy. The results showed substantially increased amounts of iron in the organs studied after iron-loading and also augmented malondialdehyde production in the liver and kidney (but not in the spleen). A decreased malondialdehyde production was recorded two months after iron-loading in the kidney and spleen of non-bled animals; this decrease was exaggerated in the same organs from bled animals. The production of malondialdehyde as well as the iron content in the livers of both bled and non-bled rats 2 months after iron loading was higher than in the controls. The evidence obtained suggested that the accumulation of iron in the liver was causally related to increased lipid peroxidation. Judging from the morphological appearances this change did not result in cell damage, the only pertinent morphologic alteration being the occurrence of iron particles in the lysosomal vacuome and the cell sap.

Interaction of metals and carbon tetrachloride on lipid peroxidation and hepatotoxicity

Rats were administered ferrous sulfate, cadmium chloride, or sodium vanadate alone and in combination with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) to determine if lipid peroxidation is associated with the toxicity of the three metals and to determine if there is an interaction between these metals and CCl4 in producing lipid peroxidation and hepatotoxicity. Expired ethane was used as an index of lipid peroxidation while serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and histopathology were used to assess liver damage. Lipid peroxidation did not appear to be associated with the hepatotoxicity of cadmium since no measurable increase in ethane production was observed when serum ALT concentrations were doubled relative to controls. Cadmium did not increase ethane when administered with CCl4 and the increase in ALT was additive. Iron and vanadate produced small significant increases in ethane production but no increase in ALT and only minor histopathologic changes, yet potentiated lipid peroxidation and liver damage when administered with CCl4. Thus, Cd did not produce lipid peroxidation and did not potentiate the lipid peroxidation and hepatotoxicity of CCl4, while iron or vanadate which produced lipid peroxidation alone potentiated the lipid peroxidation and hepatotoxicity of CCl4.

Determination of alkanes in breath to monitor lipid peroxidation in the presence of volatile toxicants and metabolites. An optimized, automatic method

Determination of alkanes in breath of laboratory animals and humans has become a standard-method for monitoring lipid peroxidation in vivo. Isothermal gas chromatography on Porasil C enables sensitive, rapid and repetitive determination of all C2-C5-hydrocarbons in breath. Volatile toxicants and metabolites, which would coelute with the alkanes of later injected samples, are deviated by using a precolumn. An automatic switching unit controls withdrawal and injection of samples and backflush of the precolumn in a repetitive manner at fixed intervals. This increases accuracy and sensitivity of analysis and enables virtually unattended operation. The system has been applied for a study on the oxygen-dependence of CCl4-metabolism in the rat.

Lipid peroxidation in isolated rat hepatocytes measured by ethane and n-pentane formation

Isolated rat hepatocytes (1 X 10(7) cells/ml) were aerobically incubated in Eagle's Minimum Essential Medium which contained 2.0% albumin. As potential parameters of lipid peroxidation ethane and n-pentane formed were measured in samples obtained from the gas phase above the incubation mixture. 15-30 nmol ethane or n-pentane were produced by 10(7) hepatocytes within 90 min. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) or ADP-complexed ferrous ions stimulated ethane and n-pentane formation considerably, depending on the concentrations of the compounds. With CCl4 10(7) cells formed max 180 nmol ethane and 140 nmol n-pentane within 90 min incubation, whereas with Fe(II) max 130 nmol ethane and 220 nmol n-pentane could be detected. When n-pentane was added to the gas phase above the incubation mixture containing either medium or medium plus hepatocytes its amount decreased by 30% within the first 5 min of incubation. However, afterwards only minor amounts of n-pentane disappeared, even in the presence of hepatocytes. This indicates that n-pentane equilibrates with the cells suspension under the conditions used. Cell viability, as determined by the release of lactate dehydrogenase into the medium and by the uptake of trypan blue by the cells, and the recovery of the cells decreased only in presence of relatively high concentrations of CCl4, or Fe(II) respectively. However, a maximal effect on ethane and n-pentane formation was reached already with lower concentration.

Vitamin E and selenium protection from in vivo lipid peroxidation

Some of the vitamins and many of the metals that are being considered at this symposium interact in lipid peroxidation. Some of these interactions have been studied in vivo. Measurement of in vivo lipid peroxidation in the rat is accomplished by gas chromatographic analysis of pentane, a minor peroxidation product that is exhaled in the breath. In the rat, lipid peroxidation is proportional to dietary polyunsaturated lipids when the animal is deficient in antioxygenic agents. The chain-breaking antioxidant vitamin E is the main protector against in vivo lipid peroxidation. Dietary selenium, through its involvement in the biosynthesis of glutathione peroxidase, functions in a secondary antioxygenic role as a hydroperoxide reducer. In rats fed a vitamin E-deficient diet, injection of some hydroperoxides, iron, or vitamin C leads to initiation of in vivo lipid peroxidation, apparently by decomposing hydroperoxides to free radicals. Carbon tetrachloride, a toxic halogenated hydrocarbon, is metabolized by liver microsomes and initiates in vivo lipid peroxidation in the liver. These examples show that practical information on interactions involving in vivo lipid peroxidation can be obtained by studies that use the pentane method.

Free radical initiation in proteins and amino acids by ionizing and ultraviolet radiations and lipid oxidation--part III: free radical transfer from oxidizing lipids

Parallels and similarities in chemical and functional damage to proteins by ionizing and uv radiations and oxidizing lipids have been recognized for some time. However, only recently have oxidizing lipids been shown directly by electron spin resonance to be radiomimetic also in their capacity for protein free radical production. Free radicals play a key role in the transformation of energy to molecular and cellular damage. It is thus of critical importance to elucidate the general mechanisms of free radical formation and reactions in proteins in order to understand protein involvement in various pathological conditions and in food deterioration. Accordingly, this review is a detailed comparison of gamma-radiation, UV radiation, and lipid oxidation for what is presently known concerning (1) the specific modes of energy deposition and free radical formation, (2) the free radicals formed in proteins and amino acids, and (3) the typical damage correlating with these radicals.

Respiratory pentane: a measure of in vivo lipid peroxidation applied to rats fed diets varying in polyunsaturated fats, vitamin E, and selenium and exposed to nitrogen dioxide

Pentane is one decomposition product of omega 6-unsaturated lipid hydroperoxides. The measurement of respiratory pentane is one of the most sensitive in vivo tests of lipid peroxidation. This measurement was applied to test the ability of a low level, short-term exposure of rats of nitrogen dioxide to induce lipid peroxidation. When exposed to 4.48 ppm nitrogen dioxide for 60 min, no increase in pentane production was detected. For 10 weeks prior to exposure, the rats were fed Torula yeast-based diets with 10% stripped lard or 10% stripped corn oil. The ratios of basal pentane production by rats fed the following antioxidants were for corn oil- and lard-fed rats, respectively: 40 I.U. vitamin E/kg and 0 selenium: 0 vitamin E and 0.1 ppm selenium: 0 vitamin E and 0 selenium, 1:2.2:5.8 and 1:1.9:3.5. Pentane production was significantly (P<0.05) greater by corn oil-fed rats than by lard-fed rats only when both vitamin E and selenium were absent from the diet.

Lack of in vivo lipid peroxidation in experimental paraquat poisoning

Ethane evolution was measured in rats breathing pure oxygen. Animals injected i.p. with a lethal dose of paraquat (50 mg/kg) developed signs of pulmonary insufficiency within 3 hours and died within 24 hours. Ethane evolution, a parameter of lipid peroxidation in vivo, was increased over control levels only by 26% after 4 hours. It is concluded that this increase is too small to support the theory that lipid peroxidation is the biochemical mechanism of paraquat toxicity.