Lipoxidation: features, neurological tissues, and aging

Abstract Like other human body cell systems the human brain is a target of the physiological aging process. Specific regions of the human brain exhibit differential vulnerabilities to aging. Yet the basic molecular mechanisms that underlie the preservation or deterioration of neurons and cerebral functions are little known. In this chapter, we focus attention on the role of lipids and lipid oxidation and the importance of the cross-regional differences in human brain aging. In particular, we first offer a brief approach to the lipidome of human brain, the relationship between lipids and lipoxidation-derived molecular damage, the changes in lipid profiles with aging, and the specific targets of lipoxidative damage in human brain during aging. We propose that lipid composition and damage be seen as the molecular substrate which gives rise to the restricted set of modified proteins, and that the functional categories involved may be considered putative collaborative factors contributing to human brain aging.