title: Accumulation of N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids cultured human Y79 retinoblastoma cells.
abstract: The metabolism of the n-3 class of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which occur in relatively high quantities in neural tissues, was studied in human Y79 retinoblastoma cells. These cells contained low levels of n-3 polyunsaturates when grown in culture media supplemented with fetal bovine serum. The cells readily incorporated performed docosahexaenoic acid (22.6 n-3) into phospholipids, but human skin fibroblasts did this to a similar extent. When 10 to 30 mumol/ml linolenic acid (18:3 n-3) was added, the cell also accumulated 22:6 in phospholipids. The capacity to convert appreciable amounts of 18:3 to 22:6 appears to be a unique property of the retinoblastoma cells as compared with other continuously cultured cell lines. More 18:3 than linoleic acid (18:2 n-6) was incorporated into phospholipids by the retinoblastoma cultures, and 18:3 was channeled to a larger extent into the ethanolamine glycerophospholipid fraction. These findings indicate that retinoblastoma cells handle n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in a manner very similar to neural tissue in vivo. Based on the results obtained with this model system, it appears that three processes may contribute to the accumulation of 22:6 in retina and neural tissue: increased ability to incorporate 18:3, the capacity to convert 18:3 to 22:6, and channeling of 18:3 and its metabolites into ethanolamine glycerophospholipids.
mesh_terms: D002455:Cell Division; D002460:Cell Line; D002788:Cholesterol Esters / Q000378:metabolism; D005134:Eye Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000378:metabolism; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000378:metabolism*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism; D005989:Glycerides / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000378:metabolism; D012175:Retinoblastoma / Q000378:metabolism*; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D002788:Cholesterol Esters; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D005989:Glycerides; D010743:Phospholipids