Dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) downregulates liver DHA synthesis by inhibiting eicosapentaenoic acid elongation.

ABSTRACT: DHA is abundant in the brain where it regulates cell survival, neurogenesis, and neuroinflammation. DHA can be obtained from the diet or synthesized from alpha-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3n-3) via a series of desaturation and elongation reactions occurring in the liver. Tracer studies suggest that dietary DHA can downregulate its own synthesis, but the mechanism remains undetermined and is the primary objective of this manuscript. First, we show by tracing ¹³C content (δ¹³C) of DHA via compound-specific isotope analysis, that following low dietary DHA, the brain receives DHA synthesized from ALA. We then show that dietary DHA increases mouse liver and serum EPA, which is dependant on ALA. Furthermore, by compound-specific isotope analysis we demonstrate that the source o

SUBMITTER: Metherel AH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11126934 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature