title: Gestational age dependent changes of the fetal brain, liver and adipose tissue fatty acid compositions in a population with high fish intakes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are no data on the intrauterine fatty acid (FA) compositions of brain, liver and adipose tissue of infants born to women with high fish intakes.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed the brain (n=18), liver (n=14) and adipose tissue (n=11) FA compositions of 20 stillborn infants with different gestational ages (range 8-38 weeks) born to Tanzanian women with low linoleic acid (LA) intakes and high intakes of docosahexaenoic (DHA) and arachidonic (AA) acids from local fish.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With advancing gestation, brain saturated-FA (SAFA; in g/100g FA), polyunsaturated-FA (PUFA), DHA, 20:3ω6, 22:4ω6 and 22:5ω6 increased, while monounsaturated-FA (MUFA), 20:3ω9, 22:3ω9 and AA decreased. Decreasing brain AA might be caused by increasing AA-metabolism to 20:3ω6, 22:4ω6 and 22:5ω6. In the liver, SAFA, PUFA and LA increased, while MUFA decreased with gestation. The steep increase of (mostly de novo synthesized) SAFA in adipose tissue coincided with relative decreases of MUFA, PUFA, DHA, LA and AA with advancing gestation. Compared to Western infants, the currently studied African infants had higher DHA, lower AA, and a higher DHA/AA-ratio in brain and adipose tissue, while the LA content of adipose tissue was lower.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The low LA and high DHA and AA intakes by the mothers of these infants might support optimal α-linolenic (ALA) vs. LA competition for Δ5D and Δ6D-activities and DHA vs. AA antagonism. Conversely, the Western diet, characterized by high LA and lower DHA and AA intakes, might disturb these evolutionary conserved mechanisms aiming at an optimal ω3/ω6-balance.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands. remkokuipers@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Remko S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Kuipers
authors.forename: Martine F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Luxwolda
authors.forename: Pieter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Offringa
authors.forename: E Rudy
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Boersma
authors.forename: D A Janneke
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Dijck-Brouwer
authors.forename: Frits A J
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Muskiet
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D004032:Diet; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000378:metabolism*; D005399:Fishes; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D019787:Linoleic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D050497:Stillbirth
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D019787:Linoleic Acid