[Study of lipid peroxidation by the assay of malondialdehyde in human and experimental atheroma]

Malondialdehyde is a marker for the oxidation of membrane unsaturated fatty acids. This biochemical process, called lipid peroxidation, occurs in the biosynthesis of leukotrienes, prostaglandins and other cytotoxic and chemotactic lipid peroxides. It may play a part in the genesis of atheroma from lipids stored in the arterial wall. Plasma malondialdehyde levels were found to be different in hyperlipidemic subjects with or without arterial lesions, and in rabbits under an atherogenic diet with or without added silicon. The same positive correlation was found in rabbit aorta between atheromatous lesions and high levels of malondialdehyde. These data would support the hypothesis that lipid peroxidation plays a role in atherogenesis.