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Correlation of fatty acid unsaturation of the major liver mitochondrial phospholipid classes in mammals to their maximum life span potential

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Lipids

Abstract

Free radical damage is considered a determinant factor in the rate of aging. Unsaturated fatty acids are the tissue macromolecules that are most sensitive to oxidative damage. Therefore, the presence of low proportions of fatty acid unsaturation is exprected in the tissues of long-lived animals. Accordingly, the fatty acid compositions of the major liver mitochondrial phospholipid classes from eight mammals, ranging in maximum life span potential (MLSP) from 3.5 to 46 yr, show that the total number of double bonds is inversely correlated with MLSP in both phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PtdEtn) (r=0.757, P<0.03, and r=0.862, P<0.006, respectively), but not in cardiolipin (P=0.323). This is due not to a low content of unsaturated fatty acids in long-lived animals, but mainly to a redistribution between kinds of fatty acids on PtdCho and PtdEtn, shifting from arachidonic (r=0.911, P<0.002, and r=0.681, P=0.05, respectively), docosahexaenoic (r=0.931 and r=0.965, P<0.0001, respectively) and palmitic (r=0.944 and r=0.974, P<0.0001, respectively) acids to linoleic acid (r=0.942, P<0.0001, for PtdCho; and r=0.957, P<0.0001, for PtdEtn). For cardiolipin, only arachidonic acid showed a significantly inverse correlation with MLSP (r=0.904, P<0.002). This pattern strongly suggests the presence of a species-specific desaturation pathway and deacylation-reacylation cycle in determining the mitochondrial membrane composition, maintaining a low degree of fatty acid unsaturation in long-lived animals.

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Abbreviations

AA:

arachidonic acid

ACL:

average chain length

DBI:

double bond index

DHA:

docosahexaenoic acid

GC-MS:

gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

LA:

linoleic acid

MLSP:

maximum life span potential

MSE:

buffer, mannitol, sucrose, and EGTA at pH 7.4

MUFA:

monounsaturated fatty acids

PtdCho:

phosphatidylcholine

PtdEtn:

phosphatidylethanolamine

PUFA:

polyunsaturated fatty acid

SFA:

saturated fatty acids

TLC:

thin-layer chromatography

UFA:

unsaturated fatty acids

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Author notes

  1. Gustavo Barja

    Present address: Department of Animal Biology II (Animal Physiology), Faculty of Biology, Complutense University, 28040, Madrid, Spain

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Metabolic Physiopathology Research Group, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lleida, 25198, Lleida, Spain

    Manuel Portero-Otín, Maria Josep Bellumunt, Maria Cristina Ruiz, Gustavo Barja & Reinald Pamplona

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Portero-Otín, M., Josep Bellumunt, M., Cristina Ruiz, M. et al. Correlation of fatty acid unsaturation of the major liver mitochondrial phospholipid classes in mammals to their maximum life span potential. Lipids 36, 491–498 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-001-0748-y

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