AsianScientist (May 23, 2014) – While it is widely believed that the essential omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is good for your brain, how it is absorbed by the brain is unknown. Scientists have now identified the protein responsible for DHA transport into the brain, Mfsd2a, which could potentially be exploited to enhance DHA uptake in humans.
Although DHA is found abundantly in the brain, little is known about how it gets there through the blood-brain barrier. The brain itself does not produce DHA but must absorb it from the bloodstream. During gestation, the baby’s developing brain receives DHA from its mother, while the adult brain gets it through food or DHA produced by the liver.
In the present study, researchers at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore began with the observation that mice without the Mfsd2a transporter had brains a third smaller than those with the transporter, exhibited memory and learning deficits and high levels of anxiety. The team recognized that the learning, memory and behavioral function of these mice were reminiscent of omega-3 fatty acid deficiency in mice starved of DHA in their diet.
Using biochemical approaches, the team discovered that mice without Mfsd2a were deficient in DHA and made the surprising discovery that Mfds2a transports DHA in the chemical form of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC). LPCs are phospholipids mainly produced by the liver that circulate in human blood at high levels. This finding is significant as LPCs have been considered toxic to cells and their role in the body remains poorly understood.
The team went on to show that Mfsd2a is the major pathway for the uptake of DHA, carried in the form of LPCs, by both the fetal and adult brain.
The findings, published online in Nature, marks the first time a genetic model for brain DHA deficiency and its functions in the brain has been made available.
“Our findings can help guide the development of technologies to more effectively incorporate DHA into food and exploit this pathway to maximize the potential for improved nutritionals to improve brain growth and function. This is especially important for pre-term babies who would not have received sufficient DHA during fetal development,” said Dr. David Silver, who is from the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders Program at Duke-NUS.
The article can be found at: Ngyuen et al. (2014) Mfsd2a is a transporter for the essential omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid.
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Source: Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School; Photo: jetherioit/Flickr/CC.
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