Summary
The incorporation into fatty acids of N-acetyl aspartic acid, labeled in the acetyl group, was investigated during brain growth and development. Parasagittal injection of the acetyl amino acid into rats of various ages resulted in maximum incorporation just before and during myelination, a period in which the endogenous N-acetyl aspartic acid increases rapidly. The results indicate that the only barrier to the uptake of this compound is at the blood-brain barrier. Gas liquid chromatographic analysis of the fatty acid methyl esters isolated by mild base hydrolysis showed that the labeled fatty acids were primarily the C16 and C18 long-chain acids. These results indicate that N-acetyl aspartic acid is actively involved in de novo fatty acid synthesis throughout growth and development of the brain. It is suggested that, in the brain, N-acetyl aspartic acid is a constituent of the acetyl transport system for extra-mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis.
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Career Scientist of the Health Research Council of the City of New York under Contract I-353
Postdoctoral Fellow on Public Health Service Training Grant NIH-5-TI-MH06418.
We would like to thank Mrs. Ann P. D'Adamo, Mr. Ben Fass, and Mr. Jay Bock for excellent technical assistance and Dr. Maurice Rapport for his helpful suggestions in the preparation of this manuscript.
This work was supported by grants from the Health Research Council of the City of New York (U-1784) and the U.S. Public Health Service (NIH-MH-03356 and NB-04803).
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D'Adamo, A.F., Gidez, L.I. & Yatsu, F.M. Acetyl transport mechanisms. Involvement of N-Acetyl aspartic acid in de novo fatty acid biosynthesis in the developing rat brain. Exp Brain Res 5, 267–273 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00235902
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00235902