Fatty acids, membrane viscosity, serotonin and ischemic heart disease

This work focuses on a specific platelet membrane fatty acid condition of viscosity which is linked to molecular aspects such as serotonin and G proteins, factors involved in vascular biology.A suggestive hypothesis is considered about the possibility to use platelet membrane viscosity, in relation to serotonin or, indirectly, the fatty acid profile, as indicator of ischemic risk.Because of peculiar characteristic of platelet in depression and in ischemic heart disease [1-4], we have first investigated the platelet fatty acid profile in 50 subjects with diagnosis of ischemic heart disease, 60 subjects in health clinic conditions, 84 subjects with clinical diagnosis of Major Depression [5-7].The fatty acids values of the 3 populations have been administered to a Self Organizing Map (SOM), mixing healthy and pathological individuals and hidding the information on to their own pathological condition. As a result, the SOM, after having identified the fatty acids markers (Palmitic, Linoleic and Arachidonic for depression and Oleic, Linoleic and Arachidonic for ischemia), was able to map the three populations (depressive vs normal and ischemic vs normal) using the specific fatty acids, recognizing as similar those belonging to the same population and, in the meanwhile, different those belonging to one population from the other ones [5-7].After the experiment, to classify other groups of subjects, the platelet fatty acid pattern has been analyzed in 80 subjects with Morphea, in 31 subjects with Scleroderma and in 45 young people, in healthy clinical conditions, for a total of 350 subjects.In the case of biological membranes we use the terms of "fluidity", "stiffness," permeability "functionality", and "stickiness", related or connected with biological effects of considerable importance.Fluidity and viscosity are two terms used in physics with specific meaning: the viscosity is a dynamic property of matter and is defined as the skid resistance of two fluid layers between th