Lipid Order of Membranes Isolated from Erythrocytes of Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: Correlation with Biochemical Parameters

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a medical condition that is characterized by an inability of the arteries to supply the myocardium of the heart with enough blood, therefore affecting its function and leading to serious pathological changes. CAD development is caused by plaque buildup on the inner walls of the coronary arteries. The plasma and red blood cell lipids are involved in plaque formation. In this study, the fatty acid (FA) composition was determined in blood plasma and membranes isolated from erythrocytes of treated patients against CAD and healthy controls. Higher saturated/unsaturated FA ratio was found in the erythrocyte ghost membranes of patients compared to controls. Moreover, the triglyceride (TG) levels of CAD patients were also higher compared to the control group. No difference in total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels was observed between patients and control group. Unexpectedly, despite the observed higher level of saturated FAs in the erythrocyte membranes, lower membrane lipid order was found for CAD group compared to the control one. Our results suggest that the serum TGs govern more significantly the lipid order of CAD ghost membranes than the saturated/unsaturated FA ratio. This finding is in accordance with the literature data stating an inverse relationship between TG levels and the lipid anisotropy in model and erythrocyte membranes. The present study implies that CAD treatment is able to decrease erythrocyte membrane lipid order, whereas higher levels of TGs in blood serum and saturated FAs in erythrocyte membranes still represent a critical potential risk for CAD patients compared to healthy individuals.