title: Delta-6 desaturase activity during the first year of life in preterm infants.
abstract: Term neonates have high delta-6 desaturase (D6D) activity, which is important for regulating polyunsaturated fatty acid's (PUFA) nutritional status. The aim was to investigate D6D activity in preterm infants and its postnatal changes. Forty-three appropriate-for-gestational-age infants were included. PUFA in red blood cells was analyzed at birth and at one, six, and 12 months of age. D6D activity was estimated by 20:3n-6/18:2n-6 ratio. At birth, preterm infants had D6D activity as high as that of term infants; D6D activity declined to about one-third at one month, then further decreased to about one-sixth at six months and remained stable until 12 months. The postnatal change in arachidonic acid exhibited a similar pattern to that of D6D activity; however, docosahexaenoic acid showed a transient decrease at one month and recovered to the cord blood level at six months. D6D may regulate PUFA profile in preterm infants, especially during the early postnatal period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuhiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nagano
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Nutrition and Life Science, Kanagawa Institute of Technology, Kanagawa, Japan. Electronic address: tomo@med.email.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Tomoo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeharu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hosono
authors.affiliation: Nutritional Science Institute, Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd., Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Yohei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000097:blood; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000097:blood; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases / Q000378:metabolism*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases; C533241:FADS2 protein, human
keywords: Arachidonic acid; Delta-6 desaturase; Docosahexaenoic acid; Preterm infant