Synergistic Effects of DHA and Sucrose on Body Weight Gain in PUFA-Deficient Elovl2 -/- Mice.

Pauter Pauter,Bengtsson Bengtsson,Asadi Asadi,Talamonti Talamonti,Fischer Fischer,Jacobsson Jacobsson

doi:10.3390/nu11040852

Abstract

The omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is implicated in the regulation of both lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. Thus, we questioned whether dietary DHA and low or high content of sucrose impact on metabolism in mice deficient for elongation of very long-chain fatty acids 2 (ELOVL2), an enzyme involved in the endogenous DHA synthesis. We found that Elovl2 -/- mice fed a high-sucrose DHA-enriched diet followed by the high sucrose, high fat challenge significantly increased body weight. This diet affected the triglyceride rich lipoprotein fraction of plasma lipoproteins and changed the expression of several genes involved in lipid metabolism in a white adipose tissue. Our findings suggest that lipogenesis in mammals is synergistically influenced by DHA dietary and sucrose content.

Highlights

Many studies implicate a role of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6(n-3)) in the regulation of various metabolic processes such as β-oxidation, adipogenesis [1], lipogenesis [2], and glucose metabolism [3]
Elovl2 -/- mice pre-treated with the high-sucrose DHA-enriched diet (HSDHA) diet and fed HSHF diet gained significantly more weight compared to the wild-type mice under the same condition (Figure 2B)
(LSDHA/HSHF); high-sucrose DHA-enriched diet followed by high-sucrose, high-fat diet (HSDHA/HSHF) or mice that were just fed high-sucrose diet (HS). mRNA levels relative to TFIIB

Summary

Introduction

Many studies implicate a role of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6(n-3)) in the regulation of various metabolic processes such as β-oxidation, adipogenesis [1], lipogenesis [2], and glucose metabolism [3]. Dietary supplementation with DHA has been intensively studied in rodents and humans and has been proposed as a potential beneficial factor for the treatment of metabolic syndrome related diseases [4]. While the effects of dietary DHA supplementation have been extensively studied in mammals, the physiological role of endogenously de novo synthetized PUFA is not clear. We have previously demonstrated that ablation of the PUFA elongase Elongation of very long-chain fatty acids 2 (ELOVL2), which is an essential enzyme in the endogenous production of DHA [10,11], leads to systemic depletion of this essential fatty acid in mice, and seems to be important factor in the maintenance of energy homeostasis [12]. Elovl2 -/- animals are resistant to diet-induced obesity, and administration of dietary

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