Determinants of F2-isoprostane biosynthesis and inhibition in man.

Several cardiovascular risk factors are characterized by the coexistence of low-grade inflammation, enhanced oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. It has been hypothesized that F2-isoprostanes, a product of in vivo lipid peroxidation, may transduce the effects of metabolic and hemodynamic abnormalities into increased cardiovascular risk. Thus, the formation of these compounds, including urinary 8-iso-Prostaglandin (PG) F2alpha, has been investigated in clinical settings putatively associated with oxidant stress. Enhanced lipid peroxidation together with increased in vivo platelet activation have been found in association with the major cardiovascular risk factors. Thus, F2-isoprostanes may transduce the effects of oxidant stress associated with complex metabolic disorders into specialized forms of cellular activation. In particular, the low-grade inflammatory state characterizing metabolic disorders such as obesity, hypercholesterolemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and homozygous homocystinuria may be the primary trigger of thromboxane-dependent platelet activation mediated, at least in part, through enhanced lipid peroxidation. Moreover, oxidative stress may promote endothelial dysfunction through increased production of reactive oxygen species that inactivate nitric oxide. Accumulation and activation of leukocytes plays a key role in atherosclerosis and its complications. Interestingly, neutrophil adhesion induced by minimally modified low-density lipoproteins is mainly mediated by F2-isoprostanes. Although epidemiological studies suggest an inverse relationship between antioxidant vitamin intake and cardiovascular disease, several clinical trials have obtained conflicting results on the effects of vitamin E supplementation on the risk of cardiovascular events. On the other hand, the use of F2-isoprostane formation as a biochemical end-point for dose-finding studies of vitamin E supplementation has helped clarifying the unique features of its pharmacodynamic effects on lipid peroxidation. This information could be extremely valuable in the selection of the appropriate patient subgroups that may benefit from antioxidant interventions.