The source of dietary fatty acids alters the activity of secretory sphingomyelinase in the rat

Abstract

Secretory sphingomyelinase (sSMase) has been suggested to be involved in the development of cardiovascular diseases as well as other human pathologies. To deduce whether dietary fatty acid composition affects the circulating activity of this enzyme, we have compared its activity in serum from rats that had been given a diet containing either butter or a highly n‐6 polyunsaturated [grapeseed oil (GSO)] fat source for 14 wk. The results show that intake of GSO increases the activity of this ceramide‐producing enzyme by about 45%, when compared with intake of butter (387 ± 16 pmol/mL·h vs. 266 ± 15 pmol/mL·h; p <0.001). Furthermore, there was a strong negative correlation between sSMase activity and n‐3 PUFA concentration in serum (p <0.001). Despite the substantial increase in activity, there was no difference in either the circulating substrate (sphingomyelin) or product (ceramide) in the serum. However, since the sSMase activity in the endothelial wall has been implicated to be involved in both atherogenesis and thrombosis, these findings are of interest in the interpretation of dietary fatty acid effects on cardiovascular health.

Secretory sphingomyelinase in health and disease

“…S-ASM activity is elevated in the plasma of APP/PS1 mice, while the concentrations of SM and ceramide are unchanged (Lee et al, 2014). Feeding rats grape seed oil vs. butter leads to increased S-ASM activity and, simultaneously, decreased ceramide concentrations (Drachmann et al, 2007). The induction of S-ASM activity by adeno-associated virus in ApoE -/-mice resulted in only minor changes in SM and ceramide: a small reduction of SM and ceramide in plasma at several time points after injection and a reduction of SM and unaltered ceramide concentrations in the liver (Leger et al, 2011).…”

Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Breast-Milk and Erythrocytes and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Danish Late-Preterm Infants

“…A few previous studies have found that LC-PUFA composition of breast-milk/formula, maternal RBC and umbilical cord blood was associated with the early QoM in term infants [18][19][20] as well as in preterm infants (born in gestational week [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] [17,35], but the investigated LC-PUFA indices and ratios vary and the results are not very consistent. None of these studies have tested the infants as shortly after delivery as in the present study.…”

“…In brief: RBC were haemolysed in redistilled water, and the lipids were extracted by the Folch procedure [26]. Fatty acid methyl esters were produced from the extracted RBC lipids using a BF3-catalyzed method [27] and extracted with heptane and analysed by gas-liquid chromatography on an Agilent 6890 Series II chromatograph (Agilent Inc., Santa Clara, California, USA) equipped with a flame ionization detector and a SP2380 capillary column (length 60 m; internal diameter 0.25 mm and film thickness 0.2 µm from Supelco Inc, Pennsylvania, USA) [28]. Fatty acid peaks were identified using a standard mixture (Nu-Check Prep, Elysian, MN), and data are given as mass-% based on peak-area relative to the sum of all peak areas corrected for differences in detector-response.…”

Supplementation of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), vitamin D3 and uridine in combination with six weeks of cognitive and motor training in prepubescent children: a pilot study

“…DHA (C22:6, n-3) in plasma was analysed as described earlier [28]. Briefly, plasma lipids were extracted using a modification of the Folch-method, and fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) were produced using a BF 3 -catalyzed method, in which hydroquinone is added as antioxidant [29].…”

“…The method has been validated for DHA, and does not induce double-bond losses. The mass-percentage contribution of DHA to the total plasma FAME-pool was analysed using GC-FID, as described earlier [28].…”