Lipid classes and fatty acid patterns are altered in the brain of γ-synuclein null mutant mice.
The well-documented link between α-synuclein and the pathology of common human neurodegenerative diseases has increased attention to the synuclein protein family. The involvement of α-synuclein in lipid metabolism in both normal and diseased nervous system has been shown by many research groups. However, the possible involvement of γ-synuclein, a closely-related member of the synuclein family, in these processes has hardly been addressed. In this study, the effect of γ-synuclein deficiency on the lipid composition and fatty acid patterns of individual lipids from two brain regions has been studied using a mouse model. The level of phosphatidylserine (PtdSer) was increased in the midbrain whereas no changes in the relative proportions of membrane polar lipids were observed in the cortex of γ-synuclein-deficient compared to wild-type (WT) mice. In addition, higher levels of docosahexaenoic acid were found in PtdSer and phosphatidylethanolamine (PtdEtn) from the cerebral cortex of γ-synuclein null mutant mice. These findings show that γ-synuclein deficiency leads to alterations in the lipid profile in brain tissues and suggest that this protein, like α-synuclein, might affect neuronal function via modulation of lipid metabolism.
School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF103AX, UK. GuschinaIA@cf.ac.uk
Irina
I
Guschina
Steve
S
Millership
Valerie
V
O'Donnell
Natalia
N
Ninkina
John
J
Harwood
Vladimir
V
Buchman
D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000378:metabolism; D051845:gamma-Synuclein / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics
D005227:Fatty Acids; D051844:alpha-Synuclein; D051845:gamma-Synuclein