Lipidomic approaches to measuring isoprostanes and other markers of oxidative stress

Abstract

Oxidative stress shifts the normal physiological balance between the rate of formation and removal of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and leads to oxidative modification of a large number of macromolecules including lipids. Oxidative stress has been invoked as a potential mechanism in a wide variety of disease processes. One requirement for understanding the contribution of oxidative stress to disease is to quantitatively assess the resulting products during disease processes and potential interventions. ROS trigger a myriad of alterations in macromolecules, so that accurately measuring every possible alteration induced by oxidative stress is currently untenable. Therefore, quantifying specific products that are both representative of the formation of other products and that potentially directly participate in the disease process is a rational approach. This review focuses on one of the most commonly used biomarkers of oxidative stress, the F 2 -isoprostanes, and then discusses the value of simultaneously measuring other related lipid peroxidation products.