Reduced numbers of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and ventral tegmental area of rats fed an n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid-deficient diet:: A stereological study

NEUROSCIENCE LETTERS

卷:438

Article

Ahmad, S. Omar¹  Park, Ji-Hyuk¹  Radel, Jeffery D.^1,3  Levant, Beth^2,3 

[1] Univ Kansas, Med Ctr, Dept Occupat Therapy Educ, Kansas City, KS 66160 USA

[2] Univ Kansas, Med Ctr, Dept Pharmacol Toxicol & Therapeut, Kansas City, KS 66160 USA

[3] Univ Kansas, Med Ctr, Kansas Intellectual & Dev Disabil Res Ctr, Kansas City, KS 66160 USA

关键词: omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid;    docosahexaenoic acid;    stereology;    tyrosine hydroxylase;    substantia nigra pars compacta;    ventral tegmental area;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.neulet.2008.04.073

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Inadequate dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content is associated with altered function of the CNS dopamine systems. in this study, the effects of dietary n-3 PUFA content were determined on dopamine cell number and morphology. Adult (postnatal day 70), male, Long-Evans rats were raised from conception on diets containing adequate (control) or negligible n-3 PUFAs. The number and morphology of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells in the substantia nigra pars compacta and ventral tegmental area were determined stereologically. The number of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells in rats fed the n-3 PUFA-deficient diet was 33.9% lower in the substantia nigra pars compacta and 33.7% lower in the ventral tegmental area than in those fed the control diet (P < 0.05); however, the volume of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cell bodies was not different between diet groups in either brain region. Rats fed the n-3 PUFA-deficient diet also exhibited dendritic depletion and isolation of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells compared to rats fed the control diet, which had clustering of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells and extensive dendritic arborization. These findings support a role for n-3 PUFAs in the survival of dopamine neurons and suggest that altered dopamine cell number, as well as function, contributes to the behavioral effects observed in rats raised on n-3 PUFA-deficient diets. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

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