title: Oxidative stress and abnormal cholesterol metabolism in patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome.
abstract: Oxidative stress has been implicated in the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In this study, we determined the levels of selected antioxidants in the plasma of 25 patients with ongoing ARDS and 16 healthy control subjects. We also examined these plasmas and pulmonary edema fluid of ARDS patients for lipid hydroperoxides. Both ascorbate and ubiquinol-10 concentrations in ARDS plasma were significantly lower than in normal plasma. alpha-Tocopherol concentrations, when standardized to total plasma cholesterol, were not lower in ARDS patients than in normal subjects. A pattern of antioxidant levels virtually identical to that observed in ARDS plasma was obtained after in vitro incubation of healthy plasma with stimulated polymorphonuclear leukocytes: very low ascorbate, decreased ubiquinol-10, and unchanged alpha-tocopherol concentrations. Nanomolar concentrations of lipid hydroperoxides were found in pulmonary edema fluid of ARDS patients, but not in plasma, nor in the plasma of healthy individuals, when a sensitive and selective chemiluminescence assay for hydroperoxides was used. ARDS patients also showed significant decreases in plasma levels of cholesterol esters in conjunction with discoidal high-density lipoprotein profiles, indicating a decrease in lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase activity. We conclude that ARDS is associated with oxidative stress, possibly exerted by oxidants released from activated phagocytic leukocytes, and major changes in plasma cholesterol metabolism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California, Davis.
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Cross
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Forte
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stocker
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Louie
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: B N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Ames
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Frei
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000975:Antioxidants; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000097:blood; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism*; D002788:Cholesterol Esters / Q000097:blood; D005122:Exudates and Transudates / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008054:Lipid Peroxides / Q000378:metabolism; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*; D011654:Pulmonary Edema / Q000378:metabolism; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000378:metabolism*; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / Q000494:pharmacology; D014451:Ubiquinone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D002788:Cholesterol Esters; D008054:Lipid Peroxides; D014451:Ubiquinone; D014810:Vitamin E; C026663:ubiquinol-10; D002784:Cholesterol; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate; D001205:Ascorbic Acid; D010100:Oxygen