title: Glucose transport and utilization are altered in the brain of rats deficient in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.
abstract: Long-chain polyunsaturated (n-3) fatty acids have been reported to influence the efficiency of membrane receptors, transporters and enzymes. Because the brain is particularly rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3), the present study addresses the question of whether the 22:6 n-3 fatty acid deficiency induces disorder in regulation of energy metabolism in the CNS. Three brain regions that share a high rate of energy metabolism were studied: fronto-parietal cortex, hippocampus and suprachiasmatic nucleus. The effect of the diet deficient in n-3 fatty acids resulted in a 30-50% decrease in DHA in membrane phospholipids. Moreover, a 30% decrease in glucose uptake and a 20-40% decrease in cytochrome oxidase activity were observed in the three brain regions. The n-3 deficient diet also altered the immunoreactivity of glucose transporters, namely GLUT1 in endothelial cells and GLUT3 in neurones. In n-3 fatty acid deficient rats, GLUT1-immunoreactivity readily detectable in microvessels became sparse, whereas the number of GLUT3 immunoreactive neurones was increased. However, western blot analysis showed no significant difference in GLUT1 and GLUT3 protein levels between rats deficient in n-3 fatty acids and control rats. The present results suggest that changes in energy metabolism induced by n-3 deficiency could result from functional alteration in glucose transporters.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Neurobiologie des Fonctions Végétatives, INRA, Jouy en Josas, France.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ximenes da Silva
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lavialle
authors.forename: Ghislaine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gendrot
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guesnet
authors.forename: Jean-Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Alessandri
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lavialle
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D004032:Diet; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000502:physiology*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D051272:Glucose Transporter Type 1; D051274:Glucose Transporter Type 3; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D010085:Oxidative Phosphorylation; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000378:metabolism; D010714:Phosphatidylethanolamines / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid / Q000172:deficiency*
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D051272:Glucose Transporter Type 1; D051274:Glucose Transporter Type 3; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010714:Phosphatidylethanolamines; C495679:Slc2a1 protein, rat; C495690:Slc2a3 protein, rat; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid; D005947:Glucose