Abstract
This study was designed to investigate whether essential fatty acid deficiency early during development could change the content of phospholipids and cholesterol in whole membranes of the kidney and renal function at adult life. For this, female Wistar rats were maintained on a standard diet or on an essential fatty acid deficient diet (EFAD) from the age of 30 days, throughout the pregnancy, at age of 90 days and until the weaning, for evaluation of their offspring. Weanling rats were maintained on a standard diet until the age of 13 weeks. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), urinary sodium excretion (UNa+V), positive cells for angiotensin II (Ang II) and cholesterol and phospholipids in whole membranes of the kidney were evaluated. Cholesterol, total phospholipids and the relative content of classes of phospholipids were unaltered in the cortex and medullary kidney. SBP, GFR and UNa+V were also unaltered in the EFAD group. However, the number of positive cells for Ang II in the tubulointerstitial area of the renal cortex was higher in the EFAD group. Therefore, these findings indicated that although cholesterol and phospholipids were unaltered and urinary sodium excretion was unchanged, Ang II expression in the kidney was erroneously programmed and later hindering of renal function was not ruled out.
Highlights
Some features of essential fatty acid deficiency (EFAD) are the decreased levels of the n-6 and n-3 fatty acid (FA) families and an accumulation of the n-9 FA family
From birth to 13 weeks of age, body weight development was significantly compromised in the EFAD group (Figure 1)
The EFAD did not change the levels of cholesterol or the levels of Total membrane phospholipids (TPL) in renal membranes, neither in the cortical region nor in the medullary region
Summary
Some features of essential fatty acid deficiency (EFAD) are the decreased levels of the n-6 and n-3 fatty acid (FA) families and an accumulation of the n-9 FA family. Linoleic acid (LA; C18:2n-6) and α-linolenic acid (ALA; C18:3n-3) are essential FAs (EFAs) from the n-6 and n-3 FA series, respectively, which cannot be synthesized de novo by animals and have to be obtained from dietary sources. LA can be converted to n-6 longchain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-6 PUFA), while ALA is a substrate for biosynthesis of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) [1]. All of them are membrane constituents and play several biological roles. Arachidonic acid (ARA, C20:4n-6) is a precursor of second messengers which play an important role in increasing vascular resistance and, in the kidney, are inhibitors of tubular sodium reabsorption [2]. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6n-3) is necessary for brain development and its deficiency leads to cognitive impairment [3] and other neurodegenerative diseases [4]
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