The formation of lipid hydroperoxide-derived amide-type lysine adducts on proteins: a review of current knowledge.

Lipid peroxidation is an important biological reaction. In particular, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) can be oxidized easily. Peroxidized lipids often react with other amines accompanied by the formation of various covalent adducts. Novel amide-type lipid-lysine adducts have been identified from an in vitro reaction mixture of lipid hydroperoxide with a protein, biological tissues exposed to conditions of oxidative stress and human urine from a healthy person. In this chapter, the current knowledge of amide type adducts is reviewed with a focus on the evaluation of functional foods and diseases with a history of discovery of hexanoyl-lysine (HEL). Although there is extensive research on HEL and other amide-type adducts, the mechanism of generation of the amide bond remains unclear. We have found that the decomposed aldehyde plus peroxide combined with a lysine moiety does not fully explain the formation of the amide-type lipid-lysine adduct that is generated by lipid hydroperoxide. Singlet oxygen or an excited state of the ketone generated from the lipid hydroperoxide may also contribute to the formation of the amide linkage. The amide-adducts may prove useful not only for the detection of oxidative stress induced by disease but also for the estimation of damage caused by an excess intake of PUFA.