title: Effect of chronic fluoxetine treatment on male and female rat erythrocyte and prefrontal cortex fatty acid composition.
abstract: Omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and fluoxetine (FLX) have additive effects in the treatment of major depressive disorder, and FLX up-regulates genes that regulate fatty acid biosynthesis in vitro. Although these data suggest that FLX may augment n-3 fatty acid biosynthesis, the in vivo effects of FLX treatment on PUFA biosynthesis and peripheral and central membrane compositions are not known. In the present study, male and female rats were treated with FLX (10 mg/kg/day) through their drinking water for 30 days (P60-P90). Plasma FLX and norfluoxetine (NFLX) concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, and erythrocyte and prefrontal cortex (PFC) fatty acid composition determined by gas chromatography. To confirm central effects of FLX, serotonin turnover in the PFC was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Chronic FLX treatment resulted in clinically-relevant plasma FLX concentrations in male and female rats, and significantly decreased serotonin turnover in the PFC. After correcting for multiple comparisons, chronic FLX treatment did not significantly alter erythrocyte fatty acid composition in male or female rats. Chronic FLX treatment significantly and selectively increased docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-6) in the PFC of female rats, but not in male rats. These preclinical findings do not support the hypothesis that chronic FLX treatment increases n-3 fatty acid biosynthesis or membrane composition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA. robert.mcnamara@uc.edu
authors.forename: Robert K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: McNamara
authors.forename: Jessica A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Able
authors.forename: Therese
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rider
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tso
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jandacek
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D005227:Fatty Acids; D005473:Fluoxetine; D012701:Serotonin; C036139:norfluoxetine