scholarly journals The occurrence of polyenoic very long chain fatty acids with greater than 32 carbon atoms in molecular species of phosphatidylcholine in normal and peroxisome-deficient (Zellweger's syndrome) brain

1988 ◽  
Vol 253 (3) ◽  
pp. 645-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Poulos ◽  
P Sharp ◽  
D Johnson ◽  
C Easton
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Molecular Species ◽  
Carbon Chain ◽  
Normal Brain ◽  
Long Chain Fatty Acids ◽  
Brain Physiology ◽  
Chain Lengths ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Long Chain ◽  
Chain Fatty Acids

The n-6 tetra- and pentaenoic fatty acids with carbon chain lengths greater than 32 found in normal brain are located predominantly in a separable species of phosphatidylcholine. A similar phospholipid is found in increased amounts in the brain of peroxisome-deficient (Zellweger's syndrome) patients, but the fatty acid composition differs in that penta- and hexaenoic derivatives predominate. Our data strongly suggest that the polyenoic very long chain fatty acids are confined to the sn-1 position of the glycerol moiety, while the sn-2 position is enriched in saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids with less than 24 carbon atoms. It is postulated that these unusual molecular species of phosphatidylcholine may play some, as yet undefined, role in brain physiology.

scholarly journals Structure and lipid distribution of polyenoic very-long-chain fatty acids in the brain of peroxisome-deficient patients (Zellweger syndrome)

1987 ◽  
Vol 248 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Sharp ◽  
A Poulos ◽  
A Fellenberg ◽  
D Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Neutral Lipids ◽  
Zellweger Syndrome ◽  
Carbon Chain ◽  
Chain Elongation ◽  
Normal Brain ◽  
Long Chain Fatty Acids ◽  
Beta Oxidation ◽  
Long Chain ◽  
Chain Fatty Acids

The polyenoic fatty acids with carbon chain lengths from 26 to 38 (very-long-chain fatty acids, VLCFA) previously detected in abnormal amounts in Zellweger syndrome brain have been shown to be n-6 derivatives and therefore probably derived by chain elongation of shorter-chain n-6 fatty acids such as linoleic acid and arachidonic acid. Polyenoic VLCFA are also present in Zellweger syndrome liver, but this tissue differs significantly from brain in that the saturated and mono-unsaturated derivatives are the major VLCFA. Zellweger syndrome brain polyenoic VLCFA are present in the neutral lipids predominantly in cholesterol esters, with smaller amounts in the non-esterified fatty acid and triacylglycerol fractions. These fatty acids are barely detectable in any of the major phospholipids, but are present in significant amounts in an unidentified minor phospholipid. The polyenoic VLCFA composition of this lipid differs markedly from that observed for all other lipids, as it contains high proportions of pentaenoic and hexaenoic fatty acids with 34, 36 and 38 carbon atoms. A polar lipid with the chromatographic properties in normal brain contains similar fatty acids. It is postulated that the polyenoic VLCFA may play an important role in normal brain and accumulate in Zellweger syndrome brain because of a deficiency in the peroxisomal beta-oxidation pathway, although a possible peroxisomal role in the control of carbon-chain elongation cannot be discounted.

scholarly journals Unique molecular species of phosphatidylcholine containing very-long-chain (C24-C38) polyenoic fatty acids in rat brain

1990 ◽  
Vol 265 (3) ◽  
pp. 763-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
B S Robinson ◽  
D W Johnson ◽  
A Poulos
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Rat Brain ◽  
Molecular Species ◽  
Carbon Chain ◽  
Neonatal Rat ◽  
Adult Rat ◽  
Adult Rat Brain ◽  
Chain Lengths ◽  
Neonatal Rat Brain ◽  
Long Chain

Rat brain has been shown to contain polyenoic very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA) belonging to the n-3 and n-6 series with four, five and six double bonds and even-carbon chain lengths from 24 to 38. These fatty acids are almost exclusively located in unusual molecular species of phosphatidylcholine at the sn-1 position of the glycerol backbone, whereas saturated, monoenoic and polyenoic fatty acids with less than 24 carbon atoms are present at the sn-2 position. Polyenoic VLCFA phosphatidylcholine in neonatal rat brain is enriched with n-6 pentaenoic and n-3 hexaenoic VLCFA with up to 36 carbon atoms, whereas the corresponding phospholipid in adult rat brain mainly contains n-6 tetraenoic and n-3 pentaenoic VLCFA with up to 38 carbon atoms. The total amount of polyenoic VLCFA associated with phosphatidylcholine is highest in the brain of immature animals. Polyenoic VLCFA phosphatidylcholine appears to be predominantly confined to nervous tissue in rats, and it is envisaged that this phospholipid is of physiological significance.

scholarly journals Perspective: The Potential Role of Circulating Lysophosphatidylcholine in Neuroprotection against Alzheimer Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 760-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard D Semba
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Alzheimer Disease ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Long Chain Fatty Acids ◽  
Dietary Pufa ◽  
Pufa Supplementation ◽  
Promising Area ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Long Chain ◽  
Chain Fatty Acids

ABSTRACT Alzheimer disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia, is a progressive disorder involving cognitive impairment, loss of learning and memory, and neurodegeneration affecting wide areas of the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. AD is characterized by altered lipid metabolism in the brain. Lower concentrations of long-chain PUFAs have been described in the frontal cortex, entorhinal cortex, and hippocampus in the brain in AD. The brain can synthesize only a few fatty acids; thus, most fatty acids must enter the brain from the blood. Recent studies show that PUFAs such as DHA (22:6) are transported across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) in the form of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) via a specific LPC receptor at the BBB known as the sodium-dependent LPC symporter 1 (MFSD2A). Higher dietary PUFA intake is associated with decreased risk of cognitive decline and dementia in observational studies; however, PUFA supplementation, with fatty acids esterified in triacylglycerols did not prevent cognitive decline in clinical trials. Recent studies show that LPC is the preferred carrier of PUFAs across the BBB into the brain. An insufficient pool of circulating LPC containing long-chain fatty acids could potentially limit the supply of long-chain fatty acids to the brain, including PUFAs such as DHA, and play a role in the pathobiology of AD. Whether adults with low serum LPC concentrations are at greater risk of developing cognitive decline and AD remains a major gap in knowledge. Preventing and treating cognitive decline and the development of AD remain a major challenge. The LPC pathway is a promising area for future investigators to identify modifiable risk factors for AD.

scholarly journals Polyenoic very-long-chain fatty acids mobilize intracellular calcium from a thapsigargin-insensitive pool in human neutrophils. The relationship between Ca2+ mobilization and superoxide production induced by long- and very-long-chain fatty acids

1995 ◽  
Vol 311 (2) ◽  
pp. 689-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
S J Hardy ◽  
B S Robinson ◽  
A Ferrante ◽  
C S T Hii ◽  
D W Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Chain Length ◽  
Carbon Chain ◽  
Superoxide Production ◽  
Human Neutrophils ◽  
Carbon Chain Length ◽  
Long Chain Fatty Acids ◽  
Long Chain ◽  
Chain Fatty Acids

Fatty acids with more than 22 carbon atoms (very-long-chain fatty acids; VLCFAs) are normal cellular components that have been implicated in the pathophysiology of a number of peroxisomal disorders. To date, however, essentially nothing is known regarding their biological activities. Ca2+ mobilization is an important intracellular signalling system for a variety of agonists and cell types. Given that several polyunsaturated long-chain fatty acids mobilize intracellular Ca2+ and that we have postulated that the VLCFAs may be involved in signal transduction, we examined whether the tetraenoic VLCFA induced Ca2+ mobilization in human neutrophils. We report that fatty acid-induced intracellular Ca2+ mobilization declined for fatty acid species of more than 20 carbon atoms, but increased again as the carbon chain length approached 30. This Ca2+ mobilization occurred independently of inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate production and protein kinase C translocation and involved both the release of Ca2+ from the intracellular stores and changes to the influx or efflux of the ion. We further observed that triacontatetraenoic acid [30:4(n-6)] mobilized Ca2+ from a thapsigargin-insensitive intracellular pool distinct from the thapsigargin-sensitive pools affected by arachidonic acid [20:4(n - 6)] or N-formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine (fMLP). 20:4 (n - 6) induced strong superoxide production (chemiluminescence) which was inhibited by thapsigargin pretreatment. In contrast, fatty acid-induced superoxide production progressively declined as the carbon chain length increased beyond 20-22 carbon atoms. Further studies suggested that the thapsigargin-insensitive Ca2+ mobilization elicited by 30:4 (n - 6) was not related to oxyradical formation, while the thapsigargin-sensitive Ca2+ mobilization induced by 20:4 (n - 6) may be involved in the initiation but not necessarily the maintenance of superoxide production. In conclusion, this is the first report to demonstrate a biological activity for the VLCFA and indicates that 30:4 (n - 6) influences second messenger systems in intact cells that differ from those affected by long-chain fatty acids such as 20:4 (n - 6).

scholarly journals Occurrence of unusual molecular species of sphingomyelin containing 28-34-carbon polyenoic fatty acids in ram spermatozoa

1987 ◽  
Vol 248 (3) ◽  
pp. 961-964 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Poulos ◽  
D W Johnson ◽  
K Beckman ◽  
I G White ◽  
C Easton
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Spectral Analysis ◽  
Molecular Species ◽  
Fast Atom Bombardment ◽  
Carbon Chain ◽  
Carbon Chain Length ◽  
Long Chain Fatty Acids ◽  
Mass Spectral Analysis ◽  
Mass Spectral ◽  
Long Chain

The high levels of very long chain fatty acids found in ram spermatozoa are located almost exclusively in one of two separable species of sphingomyelin. Mass spectral analysis, including fast atom bombardment of the purified sphingomyelin, has shown the fatty acids to have a carbon chain length of between 28 and 34, with between four and six double bonds, and to belong predominantly to the n-3 series.

scholarly journals Metabolism of saturated and polyunsaturated very-long-chain fatty acids in fibroblasts from patients with defects in peroxisomal β-oxidation

1990 ◽  
Vol 269 (3) ◽  
pp. 671-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
J M Street ◽  
H Singh ◽  
A Poulos
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Fatty Acid ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Normal Skin ◽  
Carbon Chain ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Chain Elongation ◽  
Long Chain Fatty Acids ◽  
Long Chain ◽  
Chain Fatty Acids

The metabolism of [1-14C]lignoceric acid (C24:0) and [1-14C]tetracosatetraenoic acid (C24:4, n-6) was studied in normal skin fibroblast cultures and in cultures from patients with defects in peroxisomal β-oxidation (but normal peroxisomal numbers). Cells from X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) patients with a presumed defect in a peroxisomal acyl-CoA synthetase, specific for fatty acids of carbon chain lengths greater than 22 (very-long-chain fatty acids; VLCFA), showed a relatively normal production of radiolabelled CO2 and water-soluble metabolites from [1-14C]C24:0. However, the products of synthesis from acetate de novo (released by β-oxidation), i.e. C16 and C18 fatty acids, were decreased, and carbon chain elongation of the fatty acid was increased. In contrast, cell lines from two patients with an unidentified lesion in peroxisomal β-oxidation (peroxisomal disease, PD) showed a marked deficiency in CO2 and water-soluble metabolite production, a decreased synthesis of C16 and C18 fatty acids and an increase in carbon chain elongation. The relatively normal β-oxidation activity of ALD cells appears to be related to low uptake of substrate, as a defect in β-oxidation is apparent when measurements are performed on cell suspensions under high uptake conditions. Oxidation of [1-14C]C24:4 was relatively normal in ALD cells and in the cells from one PD patient but abnormal in those from the other. Our data suggest that, despite the deficiency in VLCFA CoA synthetase, ALD cells retain a near normal ability to oxidize both saturated and polyunsaturated VLCFA under some culture conditions. However, acetate released by β-oxidation of the saturated VLCFA and, to a much lesser degree, the polyunsaturated VLCFA, appears to be used preferentially for the production of CO2 and water-soluble products, and acetate availability for fatty acid synthesis in other subcellular compartments is markedly decreased. It is likely that the increased carbon chain elongation of the saturated VLCFA which is also observed reflects the increased availability of substrate (C24:0) and/or an increase in microsomal elongation activity in ALD cells.

Molecular Species of Phospholipids with Very Long Chain Fatty Acids in Skin Fibroblasts of Zellweger Syndrome

Lipids ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 48 (12) ◽  
pp. 1253-1267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kotaro Hama ◽  
Toru Nagai ◽  
Chiho Nishizawa ◽  
Kazutaka Ikeda ◽  
Masashi Morita ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Molecular Species ◽  
Zellweger Syndrome ◽  
Skin Fibroblasts ◽  
Long Chain Fatty Acids ◽  
Long Chain ◽  
Chain Fatty Acids
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