Erythrocyte DHA level as a biomarker of DHA status in specific brain regions of n-3 long-chain PUFA-supplemented aged rats
Br J Nutr. 2014-10-21; 112(11): 1805-1818
DOI: 10.1017/S0007114514002529
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1. Br J Nutr. 2014 Dec 14;112(11):1805-18. doi: 10.1017/S0007114514002529. Epub 2014
Oct 21.
Erythrocyte DHA level as a biomarker of DHA status in specific brain regions of
n-3 long-chain PUFA-supplemented aged rats.
Létondor A(1), Buaud B(2), Vaysse C(2), Fonseca L(2), Herrouin C(2), Servat B(1),
Layé S(1), Pallet V(1), Alfos S(1).
Author information:
(1)University of Bordeaux, Nutrition et Neurobiologie Intégrée,UMR
1286,33000Bordeaux,France.
(2)ITERG, Institut des Corps Gras,33600Pessac,France.
n-3 Long-chain PUFA (n-3 LC-PUFA), particularly EPA and DHA, play a key role in
the maintenance of brain functions such as learning and memory that are impaired
during ageing. Ageing is also associated with changes in the DHA content of brain
membranes that could contribute to memory impairment. Limited studies have
investigated the effects of ageing and n-3 LC-PUFA supplementation on both blood
and brain fatty acid compositions. Therefore, we assessed the relationship
between fatty acid contents in plasma and erythrocyte membranes and those in the
hippocampus, striatum and cerebral cortex during ageing, and after a 5-month
period of EPA/DHA supplementation in rats. In the blood, ageing was associated
with an increase in plasma DHA content, whereas the DHA content remained stable
in erythrocyte membranes. In the brain, ageing was associated with a decrease in
DHA content, which was both region-specific and phospholipid class-specific. In
EPA/DHA-supplemented aged rats, DHA contents were increased both in the blood and
brain compared with the control rats. The present results demonstrated that n-3
LC-PUFA level in the plasma was not an accurate biomarker of brain DHA status
during ageing. Moreover, we highlighted a positive relationship between the DHA
levels in erythrocyte phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and those in the hippocampus
and prefrontal cortex in EPA/DHA-supplemented aged rats. Within the framework of
preventive dietary supplementation to delay brain ageing, these results suggest
the possibility of using erythrocyte PE DHA content as a reliable biomarker of
DHA status in specific brain regions.
DOI: 10.1017/S0007114514002529
PMID: 25331622 [Indexed for MEDLINE]