Dietary n-3 LCPUFA from fish oil but not alpha-linolenic acid-derived LCPUFA confers atheroprotection in mice.
The atheroprotective potential of n-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) has not yet been fully determined, even in murine models of atherosclerosis. We tested whether ALA-derived, n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) could offer atheroprotection in a dose-dependent manner. Apolipoprotein B (ApoB)100/100LDLr-/- mice were fed with diets containing two levels of ALA from flaxseed oil for 16 weeks. Fish oil- and cis-monounsaturated-fat-enriched diets were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. The mice fed cis-monounsaturated fat and ALA-enriched diets exhibited equivalent plasma total cholesterol (TPC) and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-c) levels; only mice fed the fish-oil diet had lower TPC and LDL-c concentrations. Plasma LDL-CE fatty acid composition analysis showed that ALA-enriched diets lowered the percentage of atherogenic cholesteryl oleate compared with cis-monounsaturated-fat diet (44% versus 55.6%) but not as efficiently as the fish-oil diet (32.4%). Although both ALA and fish-oil diets equally enriched hepatic phospholipids with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and ALA-enriched diets lowered hepatic cholesteryl ester (CE) levels compared with cis-monounsaturated-fat diet, only fish oil strongly protected from atherosclerosis. These outcomes indicate that dietary n-3 LCPUFA from fish oil and n-3 LCPUFA (mostly EPA) synthesized endogenously from ALA were not equally atheroprotective in these mice.
Degirolamo
Chiara
C
Department of Pathology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
Kelley
Kathryn L
KL
Wilson
Martha D
MD
Rudel
Lawrence L
LL
D000818:Animals; D001055:Apolipoproteins B / Q000378:metabolism; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated / Q000378:metabolism*; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005395:Fish Oils / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D011973:Receptors, LDL / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*
D001055:Apolipoproteins B; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D005395:Fish Oils; D011973:Receptors, LDL; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid; D002784:Cholesterol