Impact of perinatal maternal docosahexaenoic acid-containing phospholipid synthesis on offspring growth and neurological symptoms

Kanatani, A.; Hishikawa, D.; Nagata, K.; Hamano, F.; Nakano, K.; Okamura, T.; Shimizu, T.; Shindou, H.; Nagamatsu, T.; Yanagida, K.

doi:10.1101/2024.01.06.574487

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2024.01.06.574487

Impact of perinatal maternal docosahexaenoic acid-containing phospholipid synthesis on offspring growth and neurological symptoms

Kanatani, A.·Hishikawa, D.·Nagata, K.·Hamano, F.·Nakano, K.·Okamura, T.·Shimizu, T.·Shindou, H.·Nagamatsu, T.·Yanagida, K.

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Abstract

Mothers provide essential nutrients, including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid, during the perinatal period. DHA deficiency in perinatal mothers is linked to developmental abnormalities, especially in the central nervous system of the offspring; however, its specific impact on distinct events in fetal and neonatal brain development and prospective brain functions remains incompletely understood. We demonstrated using mice lacking Agpat3, a gene encoding the enzyme that synthesizes DHA-containing phospholipids (DHA-PLs), that maternal DHA-PL synthesis significantly contributes to the maternal- offspring DHA supply during the fetal period but not in infancy. Selective modulation of DHA-PL levels during fetal and postnatal periods in Agpat3-knockout mice showed that fetal stage-specific insufficiency in maternal DHA-PL supply potentially influences the neuropsychiatric phenotype in adult mice without affecting postnatal tissue DHA-PL levels, weight gain, and brain expansion. Collectively, enhancing maternal DHA-PL synthesis during pregnancy may help prevent prospective neuropsychiatric abnormalities in the offspring.

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Kanatani, A., Hishikawa, D., Nagata, K., Hamano, F., Nakano, K., Okamura, T., Shimizu, T., Shindou, H., Nagamatsu, T., Yanagida, K.. 2024-01-06. Impact of perinatal maternal docosahexaenoic acid-containing phospholipid synthesis on offspring growth and neurological symptoms. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.01.06.574487

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