Intravenously injected [1-14C]arachidonic acid targets phospholipids, and [1-14C]palmitic acid targets neutral lipids in hearts of awake rats

Radiosynthesis of 20-[18F]fluoroarachidonic acid for PET-MR imaging: Biological evaluation in ApoE4-TR mice

Dysreglulated brain arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism is involved in chronic inflammation and is influenced by apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) genotype, the strongest genetic risk factor of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). Visualization of AA uptake and distribution in the brain can offer insight into neuroinflammation and AD pathogenesis. Here we present a novel synthesis and radiosynthesis of 20-[18F]fluoroarachidonic acid ([18F]-FAA) for PET imaging using a convergent route and a one-pot, single-purification radiolabeling procedure, and demonstrate its brain uptake in human ApoE4 targeted replacement (ApoE4-TR) mice. By examining p38 phosphorylation in astrocytes, we found that fluorination of AA at the ω-position did not significantly alter its biochemical role in cells. The brain incorporation coefficient (K*) of [18F]-FAA was estimated via multiple methods by using an image-derived input function from the right ventricle of the heart as a proxy of the arterial input function and brain tracer concentrations assessed by dynamic PET-MR imaging. This new synthetic approach should facilitate the practical [18F]-FAA production and allow its translation into clinical use, making investigations of dysregulation of lipid metabolism more feasible in the study of neurodegenerative diseases.

Increasing acetyl-CoA metabolism attenuates injury and alters spinal cord lipid content in mice subjected to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Acetate supplementation increases brain acetyl-CoA metabolism, alters histone and non-histone protein acetylation, increases brain energy reserves, and is anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective in rat models of neuroinflammation and neuroborreliosis. To determine the impact acetate supplementation has on a mouse model of multiple sclerosis, we quantified the effect treatment had on injury progression, spinal cord lipid content, phospholipase levels, and myelin structure in mice subjected to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). EAE was induced by inoculating mice with a myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptide fragment (MOG_35-55 ), and acetate supplementation was maintained with 4 g/kg glyceryl triacetate by a daily oral gavage. Acetate supplementation prevented the onset of clinical signs in mice subject to EAE compared to control-treated mice. Furthermore, acetate supplementation prevented the loss of spinal cord ethanolamine and choline glycerophospholipid and phosphatidylserine in mice subjected to EAE compared to EAE animals treated with water. Treatment increased saturated and monounsaturated fatty acid levels in phosphatidylserine compared to controls suggesting that acetate was utilized to increase spinal cord fatty acid content. Also, acetate supplementation prevented the loss of spinal cord cholesterol in EAE animals but did not change cholesteryl esters. Treatment significantly increased GD3 and GD1a ganglioside levels in EAE mice when compared to EAE mice treated with water. Treatment returned levels of phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated cytosolic phospholipase A₂ (cPLA₂ ) levels back to baseline and based on FluoroMyelin™ histochemistry maintained myelin structural characteristics. Overall, these data suggest that acetate supplementation may modulate lipid metabolism in mice subjected to EAE.

Mouse Strain Impacts Fatty Acid Uptake and Trafficking in Liver, Heart, and Brain: A Comparison of C57BL/6 and Swiss Webster Mice

C57BL/6 and Swiss Webster mice are used to study lipid metabolism, although differences in fatty acid uptake between these strains have not been reported. Using a steady state kinetic model, [1-(14)C]16:0, [1-(14)C]20:4n-6, or [1-(14)C]22:6n-3 was infused into awake, adult male mice and uptake into liver, heart, and brain determined. The integrated area of [1-(14)C]20:4n-6 in plasma was significantly increased in C57BL/6 mice, but [1-(14)C]16:0 and [1-(14)C]22:6n-3 were not different between groups. In heart, uptake of [1-(14)C]20:4n-6 was increased 1.7-fold in C57BL/6 mice. However, trafficking of [1-(14)C]22:6n-3 into the organic fraction of heart was significantly decreased 33 % in C57BL/6 mice. Although there were limited differences in fatty acid tracer trafficking in liver or brain, [1-(14)C]16:0 incorporation into liver neutral lipids was decreased 18 % in C57BL/6 mice. In heart, the amount of [1-(14)C]16:0 and [1-(14)C]22:6n-3 incorporated into total phospholipids were decreased 45 and 49 %, respectively, in C57BL/6 mice. This was accounted for by a 53 and 37 % decrease in [1-(14)C]16:0 and 44 and 52 % decrease in [1-(14)C]22:6n-3 entering ethanolamine glycerophospholipids and choline glycerophospholipids, respectively. In contrast, there was a significant increase in [1-(14)C]20:4n-6 esterification into all heart phospholipids of C57BL/6 mice. Although changes in uptake were limited to heart, several significant differences were found in fatty acid trafficking into heart, liver, and brain phospholipids. In summary, our data demonstrates differences in tissue fatty acid uptake and trafficking between mouse strains is an important consideration when carrying out fatty acid metabolic studies.

Fluorescent n-3 and n-6 very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids: three-photon imaging in living cells expressing liver fatty acid-binding protein

Despite the considerable beneficial effects of n-3 and n-6 very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFAs), very little is known about the factors that regulate their uptake and intracellular distribution in living cells. This issue was addressed in cells expressing liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) by real time multiphoton laser scanning microscopy of novel fluorescent VLC-PUFAs containing a conjugated tetraene fluorophore near the carboxyl group and natural methylene-interrupted n-3 or n-6 grouping. The fluorescent VLC-PUFAs mimicked many properties of their native nonfluorescent counterparts, including uptake, distribution, and metabolism in living cells. The unesterified fluorescent VLC-PUFAs distributed either equally in nuclei versus cytoplasm (22-carbon n-3 VLC-PUFA) or preferentially to cytoplasm (20-carbon n-3 and n-6 VLC-PUFAs). L-FABP bound fluorescent VLC-PUFA with affinity and specificity similar to their nonfluorescent natural counterparts. Regarding n-3 and n-6 VLC-PUFA, L-FABP expression enhanced uptake into the cell and cytoplasm, selectively altered the pattern of fluorescent n-6 and n-3 VLC-PUFA distribution in cytoplasm versus nuclei, and preferentially distributed fluorescent VLC-PUFA into nucleoplasm versus nuclear envelope, especially for the 22-carbon n-3 VLC-PUFA, correlating with its high binding by L-FABP. Multiphoton laser scanning microscopy data showed for the first time VLC-PUFA in nuclei of living cells and suggested a model, whereby L-FABP facilitated VLC-PUFA targeting to nuclei by enhancing VLC-PUFA uptake and distribution into the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm.

Whole-body synthesis secretion of docosahexaenoic acid from circulating eicosapentaenoic acid in unanesthetized rats

Dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) are considered important for maintaining normal heart and brain function, but little EPA is found in brain, and EPA cannot be elongated to DHA in rat heart due to the absence of elongase-2. Ingested EPA may have to be converted in the liver to DHA for it to be fully effective in brain and heart, but the rate of conversion is not agreed on. This rate was determined in male adult rats fed a standard n-3 PUFA, containing diet by infusing unesterified albumin-bound [U-(13)C]EPA intravenously for 2 h and measuring esterified [(13)C]labeled PUFAs in arterial plasma lipoproteins, as well as the specific activity of unesterified plasma EPA. Whole-body (presumably hepatic) synthesis secretion rates from circulating unesterified EPA, calculated from peak first derivatives of plasma esterified concentration x volume curves, equaled 2.61 micromol/day for docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-3) and 5.46 micromol/day for DHA. The DHA synthesis rate was 24-fold greater than the reported brain DHA consumption rate in rats. Thus, dietary EPA could help to maintain brain and heart DHA homeostasis because it is converted at a relatively high rate in the liver to circulating DHA.

Imaging incorporation of circulating docosahexaenoic acid into the human brain using positron emission tomography

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) is a critical constituent of the brain, but its metabolism has not been measured in the human brain in vivo. In monkeys, using positron emission tomography (PET), we first showed that intravenously injected [1-(11)C]DHA mostly entered nonbrain organs, with approximately 0.5% entering the brain. Then, using PET and intravenous [1-(11)C]DHA in 14 healthy adult humans, we quantitatively imaged regional rates of incorporation (K*) of DHA. We also imaged regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) using PET and intravenous [(15)O]water. Values of K* for DHA were higher in gray than white matter regions and correlated significantly with values of rCBF in 12 of 14 subjects despite evidence that rCBF does not directly influence K*. For the entire human brain, the net DHA incorporation rate J(in), the product of K*, and the unesterified plasma DHA concentration equaled 3.8 +/- 1.7 mg/day. This net rate is equivalent to the net rate of DHA consumption by brain and, considering the reported amount of DHA in brain, indicates that the half-life of DHA in the human brain approximates 2.5 years. Thus, PET with [1-(11)C]DHA can be used to quantify regional and global human brain DHA metabolism in relation to health and disease.

Whole-body synthesis-secretion rates of long-chain n-3 PUFAs from circulating unesterified alpha-linolenic acid in unanesthetized rats

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), long-chain n-3 PUFAs important for brain and heart function, can be obtained from dietary fish products or by liver synthesis from alpha-linolenic acid (alpha-LNA). Their daily human dietary requirements are not clear, and their liver synthesis rates in humans and nonhumans are unknown. We estimated whole-body (presumably liver) synthesis rates in unanesthetized rats by infusing [U-(13)C]alpha-LNA intravenously for 2 h and measuring labeled and unlabeled n-3 PUFA in arterial plasma using negative chemical ionization GC-MS. Newly synthesized esterified [(13)C]DHA, [(13)C]EPA, and [(13)C]docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) appeared in arterial plasma after 60 min of infusion, then their concentrations rose in an S-shaped manner. Esterified concentration x plasma volume data were fit with a sigmoidal equation, whose peak first derivatives provided synthesis rates of unlabeled EPA, DPA, and DHA equal to 8.40, 6.27, and 9.84 mumol/day, respectively. The DHA synthesis rate exceeded the published daily rat brain DHA consumption rate by 30-fold, suggesting that liver synthesis from alpha-LNA could maintain brain DHA homeostasis were DHA absent from the diet. This stable isotope infusion method could be used to quantify whole-body DHA synthesis rates in human subjects.

α-Synuclein gene ablation increases docosahexaenoic acid incorporation and turnover in brain phospholipids

Previously, we demonstrated that ablation of alpha-synuclein (Snca) reduces arachidonate (20:4n-6) turnover in brain phospholipids through modulation of an endoplasmic reticulum-localized acyl-CoA synthetase (Acsl). The effect of Snca ablation on docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3) metabolism is unknown. In the present study, we examined the effect of Snca gene ablation on brain 22:6n-3 metabolism. We determined 22:6n-3 uptake and incorporation into brain phospholipids by infusing awake, wild-type and Snca-/- mice with [1-14C]22:6n-3 using steady-state kinetic modeling. In addition, because Snca modulates 20:4n-6-CoA formation, we assessed microsomal Acsl activity using 22:6n-3 as a substrate. Although Snca gene ablation does not affect brain 22:6n-3 uptake, brain 22:6n-3-CoA mass was elevated 1.5-fold in the absence of Snca. This is consistent with the 1.6- to 2.2-fold increase in the incorporation rate and turnover in ethanolamine glycerophospholipid, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidylinositol pools. Increased 22:6n-3-CoA mass was not the result of altered Acsl activity, which was unaffected by the absence of Snca. While Snca bound 22:6n-3, Kd = 1.0 +/- 0.5 micromol/L, it did not bind 22:6n-3-CoA. These effects of Snca gene deletion on 22:6n-3 brain metabolism are opposite to what we reported previously for brain 20:4n-6 metabolism and are likely compensatory for the decreased 20:4n-6 metabolism in brains of Snca-/- mice.

Acyl-CoA synthetase activity links wild-type but not mutant alpha-synuclein to brain arachidonate metabolism

Because alpha-synuclein (Snca) has a role in brain lipid metabolism, we determined the impact that the loss of alpha-synuclein had on brain arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) metabolism in vivo using Snca-/- mice. We measured [1-(14)C]20:4n-6 incorporation and turnover kinetics in brain phospholipids using an established steady-state kinetic model. Liver was used as a negative control, and no changes were observed between groups. In Snca-/- brains, there was a marked reduction in 20:4n-6-CoA mass and in microsomal acyl-CoA synthetase (Acsl) activity toward 20:4n-6. Microsomal Acsl activity was completely restored after the addition of exogenous wild-type mouse or human alpha-synuclein, but not by A30P, E46K, and A53T forms of alpha-synuclein. Acsl and acyl-CoA hydrolase expression was not different between groups. The incorporation and turnover of 20:4n-6 into brain phospholipid pools were markedly reduced. The dilution coefficient lambda, which indicates 20:4n-6 recycling between the acyl-CoA pool and brain phospholipids, was increased 3.3-fold, indicating more 20:4n-6 was entering the 20:4n-6-CoA pool from the plasma relative to that being recycled from the phospholipids. This is consistent with the reduction in Acsl activity observed in the Snca-/- mice. Using titration microcalorimetry, we determined that alpha-synuclein bound free 20:4n-6 (Kd = 3.7 microM) but did not bind 20:4n-6-CoA. These data suggest alpha-synuclein is involved in substrate presentation to Acsl rather than product removal. In summary, our data demonstrate that alpha-synuclein has a major role in brain 20:4n-6 metabolism through its modulation of endoplasmic reticulum-localized acyl-CoA synthetase activity, although mutant forms of alpha-synuclein fail to restore this activity.

Inhibition of carnitine-acyl transferase I by oxfenicine studied in vivo with [11C]-labeled fatty acids

METHODS

Anesthetized pigs were studied with [(11)C]-labeled fatty acids (FAs) with carbon chain length ranging from 8 to 16 carbon atoms, during control conditions and during inhibition of carnitine-palmitoyl transferase I (CPT I) with oxfenicine. The myocardial uptake of [(11)C]-FAs from blood was measured together with the relative distribution of [(11)C]-acyl-CoA between rapid mitochondrial oxidation and incorporation into slow turnover lipid pools in the heart.

RESULTS

During baseline conditions, the fractional oxidative utilization of palmitate was almost as high as that of carnitine-independent short-chain FAs, unless the carnitine shuttle was inhibited by high levels of lactate. Inhibition of CPT I almost completely blocked the oxidative pathway for palmitic acid and reduced the fractional oxidative utilization, while the rate of oxidative metabolism of acyl-CoA was unaffected.

CONCLUSIONS

[(11)C]-Labeled FAs allow rapid oxidation to be well separated from esterification into slow turnover lipid pools in the heart of anaesthetized pigs. The fractional oxidative utilization of [(11)C]-palmitate serves well to characterize, in vivo, the carnitine-dependent transfer of long-chain FAs.

Arachidonic acid incorporation and turnover is decreased in sympathetically denervated rat heart

Heart sympathetic denervation can accompany Parkinson's disease, but the effect of this denervation on cardiac lipid-mediated signaling is unknown. To address this issue, rats were sympathetically denervated with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA, 50 mg/kg ip) and infused with 170 muCi/kg of either [1-(14)C]palmitic acid ([1-(14)C]16:0) or [1-(14)C]arachidonic acid ([1-(14)C]20:4 n-6), and kinetic parameters were assessed using a steady-state radiotracer model. Heart norepinephrine and epinephrine levels were decreased 82 and 85%, respectively, in denervated rats, and this correlated with a 34% reduction in weight gain in treated rats. Fatty acid tracer uptake was not significantly different between groups for either tracer, although the dilution coefficient lambda was increased in [1-(14)C]20:4 n-6-infused rats, which indicates that less 20:4 n-6 was recycled in denervated rats. In [1-(14)C]16:0-infused rats, incorporation rate and turnover values of 16:0 in stable lipid compartments were unchanged, which is indicative of preservation of beta-oxidation. In [1-(14)C]20:4 n-6-infused rats, there were dramatic reductions in incorporation rate (60-84%) and turnover value (56-85%) in denervated rats that were dependent upon the lipid compartment. In addition, phospholipase A(2) activity was reduced 40% in treated rats, which is consistent with the reduction observed in 20:4 n-6 turnover. These results demonstrate marked reductions in 20:4 n-6 incorporation rate and turnover in sympathetic denervated rats and thereby suggest an effect on lipid-mediated signal transduction mediated by a reduction in phospholipase A(2) activity.

In vivo approaches and rationale for quantifying kinetics and imaging brain lipid metabolic pathways

Developing a kinetic strategy to examine rates of lipid metabolic pathways can help to elucidate the roles that lipids play in tissue function and structure in health and disease. This review summarizes such a strategy, and shows how it has been applied to quantify different kinetic aspects of brain lipid metabolism in animals and humans. Methods involve injecting intravenously a radioactive or heavy isotope labeled substrate that will be incorporated into a lipid metabolic pathway, and using chemical analytical and/or imaging procedures (e.g., quantitative autoradiography or positron emission tomography) to determine tracer distribution in brain regions and their lipid compartments as a function of time. From the measurements, fluxes, turnover rates, half-lives and ATP consumption rates can be calculated, and incorporation rates can be imaged. Experimental changes in these kinetic parameters can help to identify changes in the expression of regulatory enzymes, and thus aid in drug targeting. Cases that are discussed are arachidonic acid turnover and imaging of neuroreceptor-initiated phospholipase A2 activation, ether phospholipid biosynthesis, and kinetics of the phosphatidylinositol cycle.

Heart fatty acid uptake is decreased in heart fatty acid-binding protein gene-ablated mice

Cell culture systems have demonstrated a role for cytoplasmic fatty acid-binding proteins (FABP) in lipid metabolism, although a similar function in intact animals is unknown. We addressed this issue using heart fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) gene-ablated mice. H-FABP gene ablation reduced total heart fatty acid uptake 40 and 52% for [1-(14)C]16:0 and [1-(14)C]20:4n-6 compared with controls, respectively. Similarly, the amount of fatty acid found in the aqueous fraction was reduced 40 and 52% for [1-(14)C]16:0 and [1-(14)C]20:4n-6, respectively. Less [1-(14)C]16:0 entered the triacylglycerol pool, with significant redistribution of fatty acid between the triacylglycerol pool and the total phospholipid pool. Less [1-(14)C]20:4n-6 entered each lipid pool measured, but these changes did not alter the distribution of tracer among these pools. In gene-ablated mice, significantly more [1-(14)C]16:0 was targeted to choline and ethanolamine glycerophospholipids, whereas more [1-(14)C]20:4n-6 was targeted to the phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) pool. H-FABP gene ablation significantly increased PtdIns mass 1.4-fold but reduced PtdIns 20:4n-6 mass 30%. Consistent with a reported effect of FABP on plasmalogen mass, ethanolamine plasmalogen mass was reduced 30% in gene-ablated mice. Further, 20:4n-6 mass was reduced in each of the three other major phospholipid classes, suggesting H-FABP has a role in maintaining steady-state 20:4n-6 mass in heart. In summary, H-FABP was important for heart fatty acid uptake and targeting of fatty acids to specific heart lipid pools as well as for maintenance of phospholipid pool mass and acyl chain composition.

Imaging brain phospholipase A2-mediated signal transduction in response to acute fluoxetine administration in unanesthetized rats

Fluoxetine, a selective serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) reuptake inhibitor, is used widely to treat depression and related disorders. By inhibiting presynaptic 5-HT reuptake, fluoxetine is thought to act by increasing 5-HT in the synaptic cleft, thus 5-HT binding to postsynaptic 5-HT(2A/2C) receptors. These receptors can be coupled via a G-protein to phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)), which when activated releases the second messenger arachidonic acid from synaptic membrane phospholipids. To image this activation, fluoxetine (10 mg/kg) or saline vehicle was administered i.p. to unanesthetized rats, and regional brain incorporation coefficients k(*) of intravenously injected radiolabeled arachidonic acid were measured after 30 min. Compared with vehicle, fluoxetine significantly increased k(*) in prefrontal, motor, somatosensory, and olfactory cortex, as well as in the basal ganglia, hippocampus, and thalamus. Many of these regions demonstrate high densities of the serotonin reuptake transporter and of 5-HT(2A/2C) receptors. Brain stem, spinal cord, and cerebellum, which showed no significant response to fluoxetine, have low densities of the transporters and receptors. The results show that it is possible to image quantitatively PLA(2)-mediated signal transduction in vivo in response to fluoxetine.

Quantitative role of plasma free fatty acids in the supply of arachidonic acid to extrahepatic tissues in rats

Local desaturation-elongation of linoleic acid, uptake of 2-arachidonyl-lysophosphatidylcholine, and uptake plasma unesterified arachidonic acid (AA) are assumed to be the most important sources of AA for extrahepatic tissues. In this study, we investigated the clearance rate as well as the retention rate of plasma unesterified (14)C-AA in different tissues in fed rats. The initial half-life of (14)C-AA in rat plasma was 3.8 s, and the average pool size of rat plasma unesterified AA was 76 nmol. We calculated that 604 nmol of unesterified AA was cleared from the rat plasma per minute. The retention rate of AA per gram of tissue in the heart (13 nmol/min per g), lungs (12 nmol/min per g), kidney (8 nmol/min per g) and bone marrow (6 nmol/min per g) was higher than that in other tissues but was lower than that in liver (23 nmol/min per g). The total uptake was highest in skeletal muscle (249 +/- 27 nmol/min), in liver (226 +/- 15 nmol/min) and in bone marrow (39 +/- 3 nmol/min). More than 80% of retained (14)C-AA was found in phospholipids in most tissues. The conclusion is that despite the low concentration plasma unesterified, AA is a major source of phospholipid AA in several extrahepatic tissues in rats, due to its rapid turnover and selective acylation into phospholipids.