Evaluation of the Clinical Significance of In-Vitro Oxidizability of Serum Lipids

Prof. Dov Lichtenberg
Dept of Physiology and Pharmacology,
Sackler Faculty of Medicine - Tel Aviv University
The aim of our research is to evaluate the clinical significance of our recently developed spectroscopic assay of the oxidizability of plasma lipids.
Research directions include:
  1. Evaluation of the correlation between serum lipid composition and susceptibility to copper-induced oxidation. (Together with M. Shimonov, A. Bor, I.Pinchuk, I.Beigel, M. Fainaru, M. Rubin and D. Lichtenberg)
The lipid oxidation in the serum of 62 hyperlipidemic patients was analyzed to determine the correlation between oxidation and lipid composition of the serum (HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides).
  1. Oxidizability of serum lipids during the period of acute phase response following myocardial infarction (MD thesis of Ofer Fainaru under the supervision of Prof Lichtenberg and in collaboration with Prof. Menahem Fainaru, Dr. Ilya Pinchuk and Ariella Bor)
LDL oxidation in the intima of major arteries plays a significant role in the genesis of atherosclerosis. Several indirect lines of evidence have indication that under normal physiological conditions, HDL-associated enzymes protect LDL against oxidation in the plasma, thus reducing the risk of LDL oxidation in the arterial wall. This protective effect of HDL vanishes under condition of acute phase response. Hence, this phase may be expected to result in increased susceptibility of plasma lipid to oxidation. The present research tested this possibility and found that myocardial infarction is associated with a large reduction in the resistance of plasma lipids to oxidation.
  1. Oxidizability of serum lipids of women during the menstrual cycle, in relation to their hormonal status (in collaboration with Dr. I. Groscopf).
Preliminary results indicated that the susceptibility of plasma lipids to copper-induced peroxidation approaches a maximum when the progesteron level is maximal.
  1. The influence of pregnancy and diabetes on serum lipid oxidizability (in collaboration with Drs. M. Hod and M. Rubin).
No significant differences were found in the oxidizability of the serum between diabetic and non-diabetic women either pregnant or not.