Murine and human microglial cells are relatively enriched with eicosapentaenoic acid compared to the whole brain

Abstract

The brain is a multicellular organ enriched with lipids. While the fatty acid composition of gross cerebral tissue is well characterized, the fatty acid composition of specific brain cells, particularly microglia cells, is less well characterized. Microglia cells are the innate immune cells of the brain, and a paucity of studies measuring their fatty acid composition using either immortalized or primary microglia cells report a higher ratio of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) than widely observed in whole brain tissue. Here we further characterize the fatty acid composition of murine microglia cells from young male and female mice as well as of human origin and compared it with a myelin-enriched fraction from the same mice. Our results show that saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids are the most abundant followed by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), with no statistical differences between sexes. Regarding PUFA, although DHA levels did not differ between human and murine cells, EPA was statistically higher in murine microglia. Notably, the DHA to EPA ratio was about 400 times lower in microglial cells compared to the myelin-enriched fraction. Thus, our results suggest that as compared to whole brain tissue EPA is relatively abundant in microglia cells, particularly in comparison to other n-3 PUFA such as DHA. Since the fatty acid composition of microglia can influence their functionality, a better understanding of EPA and DHA metabolism in microglia and the brain could identify new targets to modify microglial activity.