N-Docosahexaenoylethanolamine ameliorates ethanol-induced impairment of neural stem cell neurogenic differentiation.

ABSTRACT: Previous studies demonstrated that prenatal exposure to ethanol interferes with embryonic and fetal development, and causes abnormal neurodevelopment. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid highly enriched in the brain, was shown to be essential for proper brain development and function. Recently, we found that N-docosahexenoyethanolamine (synaptamide), an endogenous metabolite of DHA, is a potent PKA-dependent neurogenic factor for neural stem cell (NSC) differentiation. In this study, we demonstrate that ethanol at pharmacologically relevant concentrations downregulates cAMP signaling in NSC and impairs neurogenic differentiation. In contrast, synaptamide reverses ethanol-impaired NSC neurogenic differentiation through counter-acting on the cAMP production syst

SUBMITTER: Rashid MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4698216 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature