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Mouse Strain Impacts Fatty Acid Uptake and Trafficking in Liver, Heart, and Brain: A Comparison of C57BL/6 and Swiss Webster Mice

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Lipids

Abstract

C57BL/6 and Swiss Webster mice are used to study lipid metabolism, although differences in fatty acid uptake between these strains have not been reported. Using a steady state kinetic model, [1-14C]16:0, [1-14C]20:4n-6, or [1-14C]22:6n-3 was infused into awake, adult male mice and uptake into liver, heart, and brain determined. The integrated area of [1-14C]20:4n-6 in plasma was significantly increased in C57BL/6 mice, but [1-14C]16:0 and [1-14C]22:6n-3 were not different between groups. In heart, uptake of [1-14C]20:4n-6 was increased 1.7-fold in C57BL/6 mice. However, trafficking of [1-14C]22:6n-3 into the organic fraction of heart was significantly decreased 33 % in C57BL/6 mice. Although there were limited differences in fatty acid tracer trafficking in liver or brain, [1-14C]16:0 incorporation into liver neutral lipids was decreased 18 % in C57BL/6 mice. In heart, the amount of [1-14C]16:0 and [1-14C]22:6n-3 incorporated into total phospholipids were decreased 45 and 49 %, respectively, in C57BL/6 mice. This was accounted for by a 53 and 37 % decrease in [1-14C]16:0 and 44 and 52 % decrease in [1-14C]22:6n-3 entering ethanolamine glycerophospholipids and choline glycerophospholipids, respectively. In contrast, there was a significant increase in [1-14C]20:4n-6 esterification into all heart phospholipids of C57BL/6 mice. Although changes in uptake were limited to heart, several significant differences were found in fatty acid trafficking into heart, liver, and brain phospholipids. In summary, our data demonstrates differences in tissue fatty acid uptake and trafficking between mouse strains is an important consideration when carrying out fatty acid metabolic studies.

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Abbreviations

SW:

Swiss Webster

TAG:

Triacylglycerol(s)

FFA:

Free fatty acids

DAG:

Diacylglycerol(s)

Ptd2Gro:

Cardiolipin

EtnGpl:

Ethanolamine glycerophospholipids

PtsIns:

Phosphatidylinositol

PtdSer:

Phosphatidylserine

ChoGpl:

Choline glycerophospholipids

CerPCho:

Sphingomyelin

16:0:

Palmitic acid

20:4n-6:

Arachidonic acid

22:6n-3:

Docosahexaenoic acid

Acox1:

Acyl-CoA oxidase 1

FABP:

Fatty acid binding protein

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Carole Haselton for excellent surgical and technical skills that contributed to this work. This work was supported by a grant to EJM by the American Heart Association (0151121Z).

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  1. Department of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, 501 N Columbia Road, Room 1701, Grand Forks, ND, 58203-9037, USA

    D. R. Seeger & E. J. Murphy

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Seeger, D.R., Murphy, E.J. Mouse Strain Impacts Fatty Acid Uptake and Trafficking in Liver, Heart, and Brain: A Comparison of C57BL/6 and Swiss Webster Mice. Lipids 51, 549–560 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-015-4117-6

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