title: Reduced numbers of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and ventral tegmental area of rats fed an n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid-deficient diet: a stereological study.
abstract: Inadequate dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content is associated with altered function of the CNS dopamine systems. In this study, the effects of dietary n-3 PUFA content were determined on dopamine cell number and morphology. Adult (postnatal day 70), male, Long-Evans rats were raised from conception on diets containing adequate (control) or negligible n-3 PUFAs. The number and morphology of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells in the substantia nigra pars compacta and ventral tegmental area were determined stereologically. The number of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells in rats fed the n-3 PUFA-deficient diet was 33.9% lower in the substantia nigra pars compacta and 33.7% lower in the ventral tegmental area than in those fed the control diet (P<0.05); however, the volume of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cell bodies was not different between diet groups in either brain region. Rats fed the n-3 PUFA-deficient diet also exhibited dendritic depletion and isolation of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells compared to rats fed the control diet, which had clustering of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells and extensive dendritic arborization. These findings support a role for n-3 PUFAs in the survival of dopamine neurons and suggest that altered dopamine cell number, as well as function, contributes to the behavioral effects observed in rats raised on n-3 PUFA-deficient diets.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy Education, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.
authors.forename: S Omar
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: Ji-Hyuk
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jeffery D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Radel
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Levant
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count / Q000379:methods; D018752:Diet, Fat-Restricted / Q000379:methods*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D013238:Stereotaxic Techniques; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000166:cytology*; D017557:Ventral Tegmental Area / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D004298:Dopamine