Chernobyl clean-up workers erythrocyte membrane lipid content at the remote period

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident clean-up workers were exposed to different radiation doses. Realization of remote effects depends on cellular membrane structure and function. We studied lipid composition of erythrocyte ghost and blood plasma in clean-up workers on the 12-th year after the accident. Groups of Chernobyl accident clean-up workers, non-irradiated patients with the same diseases and healthy controls were studied. Phospholipids were analyzed by two dimentional thin layer chromatography on silica gel. To analyse fatty acids and cholesterol gas chromatography was used. Total cholesterol and total phospholipids amounts in clean-up workers erythrocyte ghost were increased. The level of sphingomyelin and phosphatidylethanolamine raised. In some of the studied irradiated patients lysophosphatidylethanolamine appeared. The distribution of (diacyl)- and plasmalogen forms of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine was not affected. The fatty acid composition changed slightly except 22:5 n-3, which level significantly increased and 22:5 n-6, which quantity lowered. The unsaturation index remains unchanged. No change in lipid composition of blood plasma was detected. All the changes in lipid composition of erythrocyte ghost of irradiated and unexposed patients were very similar. The obtained results confirm the suggestion about non-specific remote effects after exposure to low doses of ionizing irradiation.