Role of dietary omega-3 PUFA in depression and memory in a rodent model.

MARÍA DEL ROSARIO SOLÍS,; BIANCONI SANCIAGO; EMILIO ZINGERLING; MARÍA EMILIA SANTILLÁN; DIEGO MAXIMILIANO WEIGANDT; CARLINI, VALERIA PAOLA

Congreso; Reunión Anual de la Sociedad de Biociencia; 2020

Background: dietary intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω3 PUFA) is reflected in the brain fatty acid composition. These essential nutrients can modify cellular and behavioral processes related to anxiety, depression and memory. In a previous work, we observed that dietary ω3 PUFA deficiency in mouse produced changes associated with the development of depressive-like behavior -like hypermotility and up-regulation of AVP and AVPr1 genes in the hypothalamus and pituitary, respectively- and reduced the hippocampal gene expression of NMDA1, which plays a role in memory formation. On the other hand, ω3 PUFAs excess increased the LTP-related gene CREB1a. Objectives: to assess the effect of dietary ω3 PUFA level on depressive-like behavior and nitric oxide (NO) level in the hippocampus, molecule related to memory formation process. Material and methods: albino Swiss mice were exposed to ω3 PUFA Control (C; soybean oil, 7%), Deficient (D; sunflower oil, 7%) or Excess (E; blend oil; 4.2% cod-liver+2.8% soybean) diet before conception till adulthood, and at this time point, the depressive-like behavior was evaluated through the tail suspension test (TST) in male animals. After that, animals were euthanized and their hippocampi dissected to determine NO level by Griess. Statistics: ANOVA and LSD post hoc test. Results: the immobility time (s) in TST was higher in D group (79.8±14.7) compared to C (43.3±8.7) and E (59.1±10.8) groups (P