Serum factors which alter cell membranes.
Mammalian cell membranes are much more sensitive to changes in serum ion concentrations than they are to serum cholesterol. Because of this, arterial cells function normally only in a very narrow range of serum ion concentrations. Unfortunately, new introductions into the food supply have been made in the diet since 1920 which may perturb the delicate relationships between arterial cell membranes and the blood serum to which they are exposed. For example, powerful surface active agents are used to emulsify fats in a host of popular food items. None of them have been adequately tested for their possible role in changing phospholipid head group composition of arterial or myocardial cell membranes. Ocean salt has been replaced by refined table salt removing a rich source of magnesium from the diet of Northern Europeans and Americans. Excessive amounts of Vitamin D, which may calcify soft tissue, have been added to the diet as a means of preventing a disease that does not develop in babies exposed to sunshine. The introduction of hydrogenated vegetable oil to the diet has helped to stimulate per capita fat consumption to almost twice the level of 1920. How the introduction of such technology has changed arterial cell membrane structure or function has not been considered. It is now possible to consider the influence of this technology on the food supply by the application of modern genetic engineering methods. The application of this type of methodology in the study of cholesterol metabolism and its role in atherosclerosis may help to find means of preventing heart disease and strokes.
Kummerow
F A
FA
Burnsides Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana.
D000818:Animals; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000209:etiology; D001769:Blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008560:Membrane Fluidity; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood
D008055:Lipids; D014807:Vitamin D; D002784:Cholesterol; D002118:Calcium