Tag Archives: malondialdehyde

Influence of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on oxidative stress and cytochrome P450 2E1 expression in rat liver

O. V. Maksymchuk

Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics,
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv;
e-mail: prima@imbg.org.ua; o.maksymchuk@ukr.net

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), ω-3 ones in particular, form phospholipid layer of biological membranes, which provides normal functioning of membrane-associated complexes of enzymes and transmembrane transport. Free ω-3 PUFAs regulate the transcription of many genes, and thereby have an effect on the level­ of metabolic processes, particularly control of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in the liver. Cytochrome P450 2E1 (1.14.14.1) causes the transformation of lipophilic exogenous and endogenous substances, as well as involvement in homeostasis, both at the cellular and systemic levels. The aim is to study changes in expression of cytochrome P450 2E1, and to assess the antioxidant system and the level of peroxidation processes in the liver of experimental animals under the chronic action of ω-3 PUFAs. During experiment more than two-fold increase in the content of cytochrome P450 2E1 was observed in the liver of rats which additionally received ω-3 PUFAs for 4 weeks in the standard daily diet. At the same time, such changes in the enzyme expression did not lead to an imbalance of pro- and antioxidant processes in the liver.