【Original Contribution】 Plasma and Erythrocyte Membrane Plasmalogen Diminished in Severe Atherosclerotic Patients Undergoing Endovascular Therapy

Abstract

Plasmalogen in phospholipid class is ubiquitously found in biological membrane. Although oxidative stress is involved in human atherosclerosis and this unique phospholipid may play a role as an endogenous antioxidant, there still remains a debate concerning the role of plasmalogen in human atherosclerosis. To investigate the relationship between plasmalogen and atherosclerosis, plasmalogen in plasma and erythrocyte membrane was quantified in atherosclerotic patients (n = 20) and age–matched control subjects (n = 20) using high–performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In the HPLC of plasma treated with phospholipase A1, concentrations of choline plasmalogens (pl–PC) and ethanolamine plasmalogens (pl–PE) in atherosclerotic patients were significantly lower than the respective concentrations in healthy controls. In the HPLC of erythrocyte membrane phospholipid extract, the peak area of pl–PE in atherosclerotic group was reduced significantly relative to that in control group. This study demonstrated that plasmalogen in plasma and erythrocyte membrane is diminished in patients with severe atherosclerosis requiring endovascular therapy. Further studies are required to elucidate the clinical role of plasmalogen as a laboratory marker in severe atherosclerotic patients.