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Retailoring docosahexaenoic acid‐containing phospholipid species during impaired neurogenesis following omega‐3 α‐linolenic acid deprivation
Author(s) -
Brand Annette,
Crawford Michael A.,
Yavin Ephraim
Publication year - 2010
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.1471-4159.2010.06866.x
Subject(s) - docosapentaenoic acid , docosahexaenoic acid , linolenic acid , phospholipid , biochemistry , fatty acid , linoleic acid , arachidonic acid , biology , chemistry , polyunsaturated fatty acid , membrane , enzyme
J. Neurochem. (2010) 114 , 1393–1404. Abstract Diminished levels of docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n‐3), the major fatty acid (FA) synthesized from α‐linolenic acid (18:3n‐3), have been implicated in functional impairment in the developing and adult brain. We have now examined the changes in phospholipid (PL) molecular species in the developing postnatal cortex, a region recently shown to be affected by a robust aberration in neuronal cell migration, after maternal diet α‐linolenic acid deprivation (Yavin et al. (2009) Neuroscience 162(4), 1011). The frontal cortex PL composition of 1‐ to 4‐week‐old rats was analyzed by gas chromatography and electrospray ionization/tandem mass spectrometry. Changes in the cortical PL molecular species profile by dietary means appear very specific as 22:6n‐3 was exclusively substituted by docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n‐6). However, molecular species were conserved with respect to the combination of specific polar head groups (i.e. ethanolamine and serine) in sn‐3 and defined saturated/mono‐unsaturated FA in sn‐1 position even when the sn‐2 FA moiety underwent diet‐induced changes. Our results suggest that substitution of docosahexaenoic acid by docosapentaenoic acid is tightly regulated presumably to maintain a proper biophysical characteristic of membrane PL molecular species. The importance of this conservation may underscore the possible biochemical consequences of this substitution in regulating certain functions in the developing brain.