INITIATION OF LIPID PEROXIDATION AS A RESULT OF THE COMBINED ACTION OF FERRIC IRON AND LIGHT ON MEMBRANES

The synergic effect of iron plus blue light on the peroxidation of membrane lipid was investigated, using liposomes made of phospholipid. While strong irradiation did not affect Fe$^{+2}$-promoted lipid peroxidation that turned out to be O$_2$-dependent, ferric iron in bright light exerted a pronounced effect on the initiation of lipid peroxidation: this combined action of light and Fe$^{+3}$ on liposomal membranes was apparently independent of O$_2$. When liposomal samples containing Fe$^{+3}$ were subjected to irradiation, some portions of Fe$^{+3}$ were converted into Fe$^{+2}$. The extent of the Fe$^{+3}$-Fe$^{+2}$ conversion increased with increasing time of irradiation, which resembled the dependence of Fe$^{+3}$-promoted lipid peroxidation on irradiation. Further, it was observed that the effect of irradiation in liposomal samples containing Fe$^{+2}$ was strikingly mimicked by that of Fe$^{+2}$ addition to the same samples. The obligatory requirement of a suitable Fe$^{+3}$/Fe$^{+2}$ ratio for the genesis of iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, a controversial proposition, was also confirmed by the observation that lipid peroxidation was substantially enhanced by the addition of a mixture of Fe$^{+3}$ and Fe$^{+2}$, as compared to the addition of Fe$^{+3}$ or Fe$^{+2}$ alone. The results obtained in this study not only suggest that light acts as an effector for initiating lipid peroxidation, when Fe$^{+3}$ is present in membrane systems, but also imply that any chemical or physical factor that influences the redox states of iron in membranes can play a role in lipid peroxidation reactions.