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Transport of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in preterm infant plasma is dominated by phosphatidylcholine

Wolfgang Bernhard1, Christoph Maas2, Anna Shunova2

  • 1Department of Neonatology, Faculty of Medicine, Eberhard-Karls-University, Calwer Straße 7, 72076, Tübingen, Germany. wolfgang.bernhard@med.uni-tuebingen.de.

European Journal of Nutrition
|June 23, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Phosphatidylcholine (PC) is the primary carrier for essential long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) like arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids in preterm infants. Choline supplementation alongside LC-PUFA may improve their availability.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Neonatal Nutrition
  • Lipid Metabolism

Background:

  • Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), specifically docosahexaenoic (C22:6) and arachidonic (C20:4) acids, are crucial for neonatal development, particularly brain growth.
  • These essential fatty acids are integral components of organ glycerophospholipids and are transported in plasma primarily via lipoprotein lipids, including neutral lipids and phosphatidylcholine (PC).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the distribution of C20:4 and C22:6 between phosphatidylcholine (PC) and neutral lipids in preterm infant plasma.
  • To inform future strategies for supplementing C20:4 and C22:6, potentially in conjunction with choline.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of preterm infant plasma (N=59) and cord plasma (N=34) samples.
  • Extraction and quantification of C20:4 and C22:6 within phosphatidylcholine (PC) and neutral lipid fractions using tandem mass spectrometry and gas chromatography.
  • Data reported as medians with 25th/75th percentiles.

Main Results:

  • In preterm infant plasma, phosphatidylcholine (PC) contained 20.8% C20:4 and 5.7% C22:6, significantly lower than in cord plasma.
  • Despite lower proportions in PC, PC served as the major transporter for both C20:4 (80.6%) and C22:6 (86.0%) in preterm infant plasma.
  • These proportions in PC were significantly higher in preterm infants compared to cord plasma.

Conclusions:

  • Phosphatidylcholine (PC) is confirmed as the principal carrier of C20:4 and C22:6 in preterm infant plasma, even with reduced overall PC concentrations.
  • Findings suggest that choline deficiency could impede the end-organ delivery of these vital LC-PUFA in preterm neonates.
  • Combined supplementation of C20:4, C22:6, and choline is recommended to optimize LC-PUFA availability in preterm infants.
Abstract

Keywords:
Arachidonic acidCholine deficiencyDocosahexaenoic acidLC-PUFA transportNeonateNeurological developmentPolyunsaturated fatty acidsPreterm infants

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