Cigarette smoke negatively and dose-dependently affects the biosynthetic pathway of the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid series in human mammary epithelial cells.
Maternal smoking during pregnancy has been associated with a reduced content of n-3 long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) in breast milk, thereby reducing the intake of key nutrients by the infants. We postulated that the mammary gland is affected by maternal smoking in the process of n-3 LC-PUFA secretion into milk. This prompted us to investigate the effects of cigarette smoke on the synthesis of n-3 LC-PUFA in vitro by using a line of healthy epithelial cells from the human mammary gland, MCF-10A. Cells were exposed to cigarette smoke under controlled conditions by adding to the medium aliquots of horse serum containing smoke components, as analyzed by GC-MS. The major findings concern the inhibition of both the conversion of the precursor 14C-ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) to n-3 LC-PUFA and of the A5 desaturation step (assessed by HPLC analysis with radiodetection of n-3 FAME) following exposure to minimal doses of smoke-enriched serum, and the dose-dependent relationship of these effects. The data indicate that exposure to cigarette smoke negatively affects the synthesis of n-3 LC-PUFA from the precursor in mammary gland cells.
Marangoni
Franca
F
Department of Pharmacological Sciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy. Franca.Marangoni@unimi.it
Colombo
Claudio
C
De Angelis
Leonardo
L
Gambaro
Veniero
V
Agostoni
Carlo
C
Giovannini
Marcello
M
Galli
Claudio
C
D000818:Animals; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D042361:Mammary Glands, Human / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / Q000378:metabolism; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*
D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases