Abstract
The n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) status of the neonatal brain has been associated with cognitive capability in mice. Previously, transgenic mice expressing the Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) n-3 fatty acid (FA) desaturase gene under the control of a lactation-induced mammary gland promoter were found to produce milk containing significantly elevated levels of α-linolenic (ALA) and eicosapentaenoic (EPA) acid. In this study, the preweaning growth rate and development of mouse pups consuming elevated n-3 PUFA milk produced by transgenic dams were evaluated using the Wahlsten observational test battery and the object novelty preference test. Brains were collected at weaning and analyzed for FA composition. Pups nursed on transgenic dams had earlier eye opening, higher visual placement scores, and 1.6-fold more docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in their brains compared with pups raised on wildtype dams. There was no significant effect of milk treatment (transgenic versus control) on other developmental parameters or novelty preference behavior. The pups consuming the elevated n-3 PUFA transgenic milk had slower preweaning growth rates such that pups reared on wildtype dams producing control milk were heavier than pups reared on transgenic dams producing high n-3 PUFA milk by postnatal day 18. This transgenic model enables the provision of a high n-3 PUFA lactational environment independent of maternal diet or gestational FA status.
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Abbreviations
- ALA:
-
α-linolenic acid, 18:3n-3
- C. elegans:
-
Caenorhabditis elegans
- DHA:
-
docosahexaenoic acid, 22:6n-3
- EPA:
-
eicosapentaenoic acid, 20:5n-3
- FAs:
-
fatty acids
- HUFAs:
-
fatty acids with 20 or more carbon atoms and four or more double bonds
- PND:
-
postnatal day
- PUFAs:
-
polyunsaturated fatty acids
- transgenic-fed:
-
pups reared on transgenic dams producing high n-3 PUFA milk
- wildtype–fed:
-
pups reared on wildtype dams producing control milk
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Scott Taylor for technical assistance with FA analyses, Dr. Mari Golub and staff at the UC Davis Murine Behavioral Assessment Laboratory for assistance with the Wahlsten observational test battery and object novelty preference testing protocols and analyses, and Dr. John Browse, Institute of Biologic Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, for generously providing C. elegans n-3 desaturase cDNA.
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Work supported by NIH grant 1R03HD047193-01 (to A.L.V.) and the UC Davis Dairy Milk Components Laboratory.
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Bongiovanni, K., Depeters, E. & Van Eenennaam, A. Neonatal Growth Rate and Development of Mice Raised on Milk Transgenically Enriched With Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Pediatr Res 62, 412–416 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1203/PDR.0b013e31813cbeea
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/PDR.0b013e31813cbeea
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