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

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

Mar del PLata

Congreso; Reunión Anual de Sociedades de Biociencias (SAIC-SAI-SAFIS); 2022

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica (SAIC), Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología (SAI) y Sociedad Argentina de Fisiología (SAFIS)

Consumption of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) - eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) - leads to their incorporation into biological membranes, modifying membrane properties, and thereby affecting signal transduction and cellular function, ultimately benefiting patients with neurodegenerative diseases. In this work, we investigated the effects of early nutritional supplementation with EPA and DHA on cognitive behavior, anxiety, and activity in normotensive (Wistar) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), and the possible biochemical and biophysical mechanisms underlying the observed effects. After weaning, the animals received orally EPA and DHA for 16 weeks (200 mg/kg body mass/day). The open field test, anxiety behavior test, and a cognitive test were performed the day before the sacrifice. On sacrifice day, plasma and cerebral cortex samples were isolated, and total lipids were extracted. The total free fatty acid composition in plasma was analyzed and the properties of Langmuir monolayers of total lipids from the cerebral cortex were studied. Naive SHR rats showed increased levels of rearing activity that were partially ameliorated by dietary supplementation with PUFAs; the treatment also decreased anxiety behavior assessed by the Marble Burying Test. PUFAs supplementation led to a significant increase in the levels of EPA, DHA, and docosapentaenoic acid in plasma and reduced the total percentage 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 untreated group. Finally, an altered phase miscibility behavior with stabilization of liquid lipid domains were registered in lipid monolayers from the cerebral cortex of SHR-treated compared to SHR-control rats. These results suggest that a diet supplemented with PUFAs from an early age in SHR modifies the biophysical properties of cerebral cortex membranes and may help to prevent the chronic inflammation associated with neurodegenerative diseases and improve associated behavioral disorders.