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THE EFFECT OF HIBERNATION ON THE LIPIDS OF BRAIN MYELIN AND MICROSOMES IN THE SYRIAN HAMSTER
Author(s) -
Blaker William D.,
Moscatelli Ezro A.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1978.tb06578.x
Subject(s) - microsome , myelin , cerebroside , hamster , phospholipid , mesocricetus , medicine , chemistry , endocrinology , biochemistry , phosphatidylserine , biology , cholesterol , central nervous system , membrane , enzyme
— Microsomal and myelin membrane fractions were prepared from the brains of warm‐adapted (room temperature) and hibernating Syrian hamsters ( Mesocricetus auratus ). Lipid extracts of these preparations were assayed for phospholipid and galactosphingolipid composition, and for cholesterol levels. In both myelin and microsomes, plasmenlethanolamine levels decreased while total ethanol‐amineglycerophospholipid levels remained constant with hibernation. Cerebroside levels changed slightly, increasing in microsomes while decreasing in myelin. No changes in cholesterol levels were detectable. Fatty acid analyses of microsomal ethanolamineglycerophospholipids and phosphatidylserine showed predominantly increases in 18:1 and 20:4 (n‐6), and decreases in 18:0 and 22:6 (n‐3), in both lipid classes with hibernation. Myelin ethanolamineglycerophospholipids exhibited a decrease in 20:1 and an increase in 20:4 (n‐6). Aldehyde analyses of plasmenylethanolamines revealed a decrease in 16:0 and an increase in 18:1 in microsomes, and an increase in 18:O in myelin. The hydroxylated fatty acids of myelin cerebrosides showed no discernible changes in composition with hibernation. It is proposed that these lipid changes aid in the maintenance of the structure and function of brain membranes at the reduced temperatures encountered during hibernation.