P. B. Addis

Biological effects of oxysterols: Current status

A review of relevant literature on biological activities of oxysterols (OS) and cholesterol is presented. The data clearly demonstrate manifold biological activities, often detrimental, for OS compared with little or no such activity of a deleterious nature for cholesterol itself. Cholesterol is perhaps the single most important compound in animal tissue and, as such, it is difficult to imagine it as a toxin or hazard. In contrast, OS exhibit cytotoxicity to a wide variety of cells leading to angiotoxic and atherogenic effects; alter vascular permeability to albumin; alter prostaglandin synthesis and stimulate platelet aggregation, an important process facilitating atherosclerosis and thrombosis; alter the functionality of low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors, possibly stimulating hypercholesterolaemia; modify cholesteryl ester accumulation in various cells, inducing foam cell formation; and enrich the LDL particle in cholesteryl esters, possibly increasing its atherogenicity. Furthermore, OS are mutagenic and carcinogenic, although some have been studied as antitumour agents based on their cytotoxic properties. Moreover, numerous studies have implicated OS in membrane and enzyme alterations that are interrelated with many of the foregoing effects. The authors find that OS deserve much more attention than cholesterol itself in terms of research activity but that unfortunately the reverse is true with regard to funding.

Free malonaldehyde determination in tissues by high-performance liquid chromatography☆

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the quantification of free malonaldehyde (MA) in tissues. HPLC separation was performed using a TSK G1000 PW column (7.5-mm i.d. X 30 cm) with a mobile phase of 0.1 M Na3PO4 buffer, pH 8.0, at a flow rate of 0.6 ml/min. The eluant was monitored at 267 nm. Free MA in the tissue sample was separated and quantified in approximately 50 min. The lowest amount of MA that can be determined by this HPLC technique is approximately 1 ng per injection. This method was successfully applied to rat liver and beef, pork, and chicken muscle and was compared to the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test. It was found to be more sensitive, accurate, and specific for the determination of free MA than the TBA method.

NOVEL HPLC ANALYSIS OF TOCOPHEROLS, TOCOTRIENOLS, AND CHOLESTEROL IN TISSUE

Tocopherols and tocotrienols are being increasingly recognized to have an important role in the prevention of atherosclerosis. It has been reported that they protect low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and tissues from oxidative stress and that tocotrienols can reduce plasma cholesterol levels. Two isocratic high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods for simultaneous analysis of tocopherols, tocotrienols, and cholesterol in muscle tissue were developed. Method A involves basic saponification of the sample, but causes losses of the gamma- and delta-homologs of vitamin E. Method B does not involve saponification, thereby protecting the more sensitive homologs. Both permit rapid analysis of multiple samples and neither requires specialized equipment. These methods may provide techniques useful in simultaneous assessment of oxidative stress status (OSS) and cholesterol levels.

HPLC method for quantitation of cholesterol and four of its major oxidation products in muscle and liver tissues

A fast, sensitive, high performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the quantitation of cholesterol and four of its major oxidation products: 3β-hydroxycholest-5-en-7-one (7-ketocholesterol), cholest-5-ene-3β, 7α-diol (7α-hydroxycholesterol), cholest-5-ene-3β,7β-diol (7β-hydroxycholesterol), and cholest-5-ene-3β,25-diol (25-hydroxycholesterol). In this procedure 2∶1 chloroform:methanol (v/v) extracts of tissue homogenate were combined, dried over anhydrous Na2SO4, filtered, evaporated to dryness under N2 and dissolved with a mobile phase of either 97∶3 or 93∶7 hexane:isopropanol (v/v). After membrane filtration and without further purification, aliquots were directly injected onto a 10-μm pore size, 30×0.39 cm μ-Porasil normal phase column. The separation of cholesterol and its oxidation products was monitored by a UV detector at 206 and 233 nm. This method was successfully applied to pork muscle as well as mouse liver tissues and was able to detect cholesterol oxidation products (COP) in the ppm range. The identity of the COP was confirmed by mass spectroscopy.

Capillary column gas−liquid chromatographic resolution of oxidized cholesterol derivatives

Fused-silica capillary columns were evaluated for the resolution of oxidized cholesterol derivatives. Thermal instability of diol derivatives, epimeric 7 alpha- and 7 beta-hydroxy, 4 beta-hydroxy, and 25-hydroxycholesterol, was observed during gas chromatography. After derivatization as trimethylsilyl ethers the foregoing diols, alpha-epoxide, cholestane-triol, 7-ketocholesterol, and cholesta-3,5-dien-7-one were completely resolved on a DB-1 column. Each oxidized sterol revealed excellent response linearity as the trimethylsilylated sterol, enabling reliable quantification. The identity of each derivatized sterol was confirmed by mass spectrometry.

Capillary GC quantification of cholesterol oxidation products in plasma lipoproteins of fasted humans

Cholesterol oxidation products have been hypothesized to be important factors in atherosclerosis, a process which can culminate in myocardial infarction. The relative importance of exogenous or in vivo sources of cholesterol oxidation products has not been determined. However, methodology used for cholesterol oxidation products analysis of foods is applicable to the determination of cholesterol oxidation products in human plasma lipoproteins. Such methodology, outlined in this report, permits numerous critical experiments to be conducted on the possible role of cholesterol oxidation products in coronary heart disease.

Kinetic evaluation of 3β-hydroxycholest-5-en-7-one (7-ketocholesterol) stability during saponification

To clarify conflicting information regarding 7-ketocholesterol (7-KC) recovery from saponification, we evaluated the stability of 7-KC in methanolic alkaline medium. We added 1 N alcoholic KOH to 7-KC or lard spiked with 7-KC and held the mixtures at 45, 55, 65, and 75°C for different times to simulate various saponification conditions. Gas-chromatographic determination of residual 7-KC with 5α-cholestane as the internal standard (IS) showed that the higher the saponification temperature, the greater the 7-KC degradation. Hot saponification at 75°C for 30 min caused extensive destruction and left only 31% 7-KC. 7-KC loss during saponification could be described by pseudo first-order kinetics, and the dependence of degradation rate on temperature (T, K) byk (h−1)=(2.6×1017) exp (−1.36×104/T). As predicted by the kinetic equation, 7-KC loss during room-temperature saponification (21°C) was practically negligible; following the exposure of 7-KC or lard spiked with 7-KC to 1 N alcoholic KOH for 18 h, about 97% 7-KC was recovered. 6-Ketocholestanol, when used as an IS, should be looked at carefully because of potential tautomerization, leading to the formation of two enol isomers when in extended contact with trimethylsilyl derivatization reagents.

Effect of heat inactivation of lipoxygenase on lipid oxidation in lake herring (coregonus artedii)

The role of lipoxygenase in causing lipid oxidation in lake herring was studied. Lipid oxidation was measured by assaying for 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), and lipoxygenase activity was measured by a spectrophotometric (470 nm) method. Lipoxygenase activity was highest in light muscle, lowest in skin and intermediate in dark muscle. Light muscle contained the highest percentage of phospholipids (PL) and the least total lipid. The percentage of PL was lowest and total lipids were highest in the skin. Eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid were found in larger amounts in PL than in triglycerides. Heat treatment rapidly inactivated lipoxygenase. After a 5-min heating period, lipoxygenase was totally inactivated in most cases. TBARS data indicated that samples heated at 80°C for 1.5–2.0 min were more stable than samples heated at 80°C for 2.5–5.0 min, suggesting that heat accelerated nonenzymatic oxidation.

Derivatization of 5α-cholestane-3β,5,6β-triol into trimethylsilyl ether sterol for GC analysis

Chemical identity of 5α-cholestane-3β,5,6β-triol (C-Triol) as a trimethylsilyl (TMS) ether derivative was studied using gas chromatography (GC), mass spectrometry (MS), and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The derivatization mixture, held at 23°C for 30 and 300 min, showed only a single peak (B) by GC. When the mixture was heated at 70°C for a few hours, another peak (A) emerged ahead of peak (B). GC-MS analysis revealed that the GC peaks (A) and (B) are C-Triol astris- andbis-TMS ether derivatives, respectively. NMR analysis suggested that the hydroxyl groups at C3 and C6 of C-Triol were involved in the formation of thebis-TMS ether.

Temperature-dependent abnormalities of the erythrocyte membrane in porcine malignant hyperthermia

The temperature dependence of ATPase activities and stearic acid spin label motion in red blood cells of normal and MH-susceptible pigs have been examined. Arrhenius plots of red blood cell ghost Ca-ATPase and calmodulin-stimulable Ca-ATPase activities were identical for both normal and MH erythrocyte ghosts. Arrhenius plots of Mg-ATPase activity exhibited a break (defined as a change in slope) at 24 degrees C in both MH and normal erythrocyte ghosts. However, below 24 degrees C the apparent activation energy for this activity was less in MH than normal ghosts. To determine whether breaks in ATPase Arrhenius plots could be correlated with changes in the physical state of the red blood cell membrane, the spin label 16-doxyl-stearate was introduced into the bilayer of both erythrocyte ghosts and red blood cells. With both ghosts and intact cells, at each temperature examined, the mobility of the probe in the lipid bilayer, as measured by electron paramagnetic resonance, was greater in normal than in MH membranes. While there were no breaks in Arrhenius plots for probe motion in the erythrocyte ghosts, the apparent activation energy for probe motion was significantly greater in normal than in MH ghost membranes. While there was no break in the Arrhenius plot of probe motion in normal intact red blood cell membranes, there were breaks in the Arrhenius plot of probe motion at both 24 and 33 degrees C in intact MH red blood cell membranes. Based on the altered temperature dependence of Mg-ATPase activity and spin probe motion in membranes derived from MH red blood cells, we conclude that there may be a generalized membrane defect in MH pigs which is reflected in the red blood cell as an altered membrane composition or organization.