Study of the biochemical, biophysical, and behavioral effects of omega-3 fatty acids on normotensive and hypertensive rats

MARÍA LUCRECIA LONGARZO; FRANCO DOLCETTI; SOFÍA CERVELLINI, ; MILAGROS SISTI; ROMINA VAZQUEZ; MARÍA CELESTE VILLA-ABRILLE.; M. LAURA FANANI; M. JOSÉ BELLINI,; SABINA M. MATÉ

Mar del Plata

Congreso; Reunión de Sociedades de Biociencias; 2022

Consumption of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) - eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) anddocosahexaenoic acid (DHA) - leads to their incorporation into biological membranes, modifyingmembrane properties, and thereby affecting signal transduction and cellular function, ultimatelybenefiting patients with neurodegenerative diseases. In this work, we investigated the effects ofearly nutritional supplementation with EPA and DHA on cognitive behavior, anxiety, and activity innormotensive (Wistar) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), and the possible biochemicaland biophysical mechanisms underlying the observed effects. After weaning, the animals receivedorally EPA and DHA for 16 weeks (200 mg/kg body mass/day). The open field test, anxiety behaviortest, and a cognitive test were performed the day before the sacrifice. On sacrifice day, plasma andcerebral cortex samples were isolated, and total lipids were extracted. The total free fatty acidcomposition in plasma was analyzed and the properties of Langmuir monolayers of total lipids fromthe cerebral cortex were studied. Naive SHR rats showed increased levels of rearing activity thatwere partially ameliorated by dietary supplementation with PUFAs; the treatment also decreasedanxiety behavior assessed by the Marble Burying Test. PUFAs supplementation led to a significantincrease in the levels of EPA, DHA, and docosapentaenoic acid in plasma and reduced the totalpercentage of omega-6 fatty acids. Anti-inflammatory lipid mediators derived from PUFAs(resolvins) were increased in the plasma of SHR-supplemented rats compared to the untreatedgroup. Finally, higher miscibility pressures were registered in lipid monolayers from the cerebralcortex of SHR-treated compared to SHR-control rats. These results suggest that a dietsupplemented with PUFAs from an early age in SHR may help to prevent the chronic inflammationassociated with neurodegenerative diseases and improve associated behavioral disorders.