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Relationship between dietary supply of long-chain fatty acids and membrane composition of long- and very long chain essential fatty acids in developing rat photoreceptors

  • Symposium on Dietary Fat and Neural Development
  • Published:
Lipids

Abstract

The present study was designed to determine if dietary supply of long-chain fatty acid (LCFA, C20∶4n-6, and/or C22∶6n-3), reflecting levels that might be incorporated into infant formulas, influences the fatty acid composition of the visual cell membrane. The rod outer segment (ROS) of the retina was analyzed from rats fed diets varying in the ratio of 18∶2n-6 to 18∶3n-3 with or without 20∶4n-6 [arachidonic acid (AA)] and 22∶6n-3 (docosahexaenoic acid) from birth to six weeks of age. The level of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA, C24−C36) was identified using gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In the ROS, the highest relative percent of AA was attained in phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) of animals fed 1% AA diet, whereas feeding 0.7% docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) diet significantly increased the DHA level in PC, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidylinositol compared to feeding diets containing AA. VLCFA of n-6 and n-3 up to C36 were found in PC, with the most abundant fatty acids being C32 and C34. In PC, phosphatidylserine and PE, the n-6 tetraenoic VLCFA level was highly increased in animals fed 1% AA compared to other dietary groups. This study suggests that dietary fat containing small amounts of AA or DHA is an important factor influencing membrane fatty acid composition of the visual cell during development.

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Abbreviations

AA:

arachidonic acid

DHA:

docosahexaenoic acid

GC-MS:

gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

LCFA:

long-chain fatty acids

PC:

phosphatidylcholine

PE:

phosphatidylethanolamine

PI:

phosphatidylinositol

PS:

phosphatidylserine

ROS:

rod outer segment

TLC:

thin-layer chromatography

VLCFA:

very long chain fatty acids

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wyeth-Ayerst Research, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    E. Lien

  2. Nutrition and Metabolism Research Group 4-10 Agriculture-Forestry Centre, University of Alberta, T6G 2P5, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    M. Suh, A. A. Wierzbicki & M. T. Clandinin

Authors
  1. M. Suh
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  2. A. A. Wierzbicki
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  3. E. Lien
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  4. M. T. Clandinin
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Additional information

Based on a presentation at the AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo in San Antonio, Texas, May 7–11, 1995.

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Suh, M., Wierzbicki, A.A., Lien, E. et al. Relationship between dietary supply of long-chain fatty acids and membrane composition of long- and very long chain essential fatty acids in developing rat photoreceptors. Lipids 31, 61–64 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02522412

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02522412

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