British Journal of Nutrition

Table of Contents - September 2008 - Volume 100, Issue 03  

Full Papers

Inverse relation between levels of anti-oxidized-LDL antibodies and eicosapentanoic acid (EPA)

L. Garrido-Sáncheza1a2 c1, E. García-Fuentesa1a3, G. Rojo-Martíneza3a4, F. Cardonaa1a3, F. Soriguera4a5 and F. J. Tinahonesa1a2

a1 Ciber Fisiopatología, Obesidad y Nutrición (CB06/03), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain

a2 Servicio de Endocrinología y Nutrición, Hospital Clínico Virgen de la Victoria, Malaga, Spain

a3 Fundación IMABIS (Instituto Mediterráneo para el Avance de la Biotecnología y la Investigación Sanitaria), Malaga, Spain

a4 Ciber Diabetes y Enfermedades metabolicas (CB07/08/0019), Instituto de salud Carlos III, Spain

a5 Servicio de Endocrinología y Nutrición, Hospital Regional Universitario Carlos Haya, Malaga, Spain

Abstract

Oxidative modification of LDL is thought to play an important role in the development of atherosclerosis. Susceptibility of LDL to peroxidation may partly depend on the compositional characteristics of the antioxidant and fatty acid content. The aim of this study was to examine the association between levels of antibodies to oxidized LDL and the various serum fatty acids in women. A total of 465 women aged 18–65 years were selected randomly from the adult population census of Pizarra, a town in southern Spain. Measurement of anti-oxidized-LDL was done by ELISA and the fatty acid composition of serum phospholipids was determined by GC. The levels of anti-oxidized-LDL antibodies were significantly related with age (r − 0·341, P < 0·001), BMI (r − 0·239, P < 0·001), waist:hip ratio (r − 0·285, P < 0·001), glucose (r − 0·208, P < 0·001), cholesterol (r − 0·243, P < 0·001), LDL-cholesterol (r − 0·185, P = 0·002), EPA (r − 0·159, P = 0·003), DHA (r − 0·121, P = 0·026), and the sum of the serum phospholipid n-3 PUFA (r − 0·141, P = 0·009). Multiple regression analysis showed that the variables that explained the behaviour of the levels of anti-oxidized-LDL antibodies were age (P < 0·001) and the serum phospholipid EPA (P < 0·001). This study showed that the fatty acid composition of serum phospholipids, and especially the percentage of EPA, was inversely related with the levels of anti-oxidized-LDL antibodies.

(Accepted December 17 2007)

(Received October 17 2007)

(Online publication February 06 2008)

Key Words:

Correspondence:

c1 Corresponding author: Dr Lourdes Garrido Sánchez, fax +34 952 286 704, email lourgarrido@hotmail.com

Footnotes

Abbreviations: MDA, malonyldialdehyde; MDA-LDL, oxidized LDL