Maternal dietary of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids affects the neurogenesis and neurochemical in female rat at weaning

Abstract

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) are rapidly accumulated in brain during pre- and neonatal life, which is important for the development and function of central nervous system. Deficiency of biologically important n-3 PUFA docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6n–3, DHA) is associated with impaired visual, attention and cognition, and would precipitate psychiatric symptoms. However, clinical studies of the potential mechanism on the effect of dietary DHA deficiency on neural development remain unclear. In addition, the effects of n-6 PUFAs and n-3 PUFAs ingestion on the dynamic process of the cell proliferation in neurogenesis of offspring were investigated using immunefluorescence. And GC-MS was used to determine the fatty acid content in the liver of offspring. To further investigate the neurochemical influence on maternal PUFAs levels, we assessed the functioning of various neurotransmitter systems including glutamatergic, dopaminergic, norepinephrinergic and serotoninergic systems in the brain of female rats at weaning by HPLC-MS/MS. Lastly, we analyzed the turnover rates and between-metabolite ratios (the ratios between metabolites of monoamine neurotransmitters) to seek potential links between the neurotransmitters and dietary fatty acids compositions. There were significant differences between the deficiency group and the control or supplementary group in liver fatty acids compositions, showing that n-3 PUFAs were largely replaced by n-6 PUFAs. The generation of n-3 PUFAs deficiency rats exhibited abnormal neurogenesis and neurochemical. Altered dopamine or norepinephrine transmission and between-metabolite ratios in brain areas may be a key neuronal mechanism that contributes to the potential detrimental effects of n-3 PUFAs deficiency for mental health.