Fatty Acid Composition of Erythrocytes and Blood Plasma in Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome

Abstract

This paper focused on analysis of fatty acids of erythrocytes and blood plasma in patients with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. For the study, fatty acids ethyl esters, obtained during sample preparation from blood plasma and erythrocytes, were analyzed by capillary gas-liquid chromatography. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test (p<0.05). The conducted research has shown that blood plasma of MODS patients has a decreased relative level of polyunsaturated fatty acids and saturated stearic (C18:0) acid, while there is a significant increase in relative content of monounsaturated fatty acids. In conditions of an increased level of monounsaturated palmitoleic (C16:1) and oleic (C18:1) fatty acids in blood plasma, only the level of palmitoleic (C16:1) acid is increased in erythrocytes. The disorder of lipid composition constancy of erythrocyte membranes is also manifested by a change in the content of saturated palmitic (C16:0) and polyunsaturated linoleic (C18:2) fatty acids. The changes revealed in fatty acid composition of erythrocytes may indicate systemic modifications of cell membranes in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. The changes in blood plasma fatty acid composition in patients with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome is mainly caused by activation of lipolysis in fat depots.