Faculty of Health Sciences
School of Medicine
Department of Physiology
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
Polyunsaturated (omega-3 and omega-6) fatty acids are increasingly used in the treatment of a variety of conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and psychiatric illness. In the latter two instances, regulation of calcium metabolism is of major importance, as the uptake of calcium over the intestinal membrane by Ca-ATPase and extrusion from the neuron by Ca-ATPase may be modulated by omega-3/6 fatty acids. Our studies have investigated the mechanism of fatty acid action on Ca-ATPase as well as Na, K-ATPase which indirectly drives calcium transport. It was found that fatty acids have marked effects on both ATPases and multiple signalling effects were involved. In the case of rat intestinal enterocyte membranes, docosahexanoic acid (DHA), (omega-3), but not eicosapentanoic acid (EPA)(omega-3) or arachidonic acid (AA)(omega-6) activated Ca-ATPase via Protein kinase C. Since DHA is necessary for infant brain development and is preferentially supplied to the infant by the placenta and breast milk, our findings add a new dimension to the importance of DHA if it can improve duodenal calcium intake in young animals. In the case of rat neuronal membranes, we found that DHA and EPA inhibited both ATPases. This suggests a mechanism that explains the dampening effects of omega-3 treatment on neuronal activity in the manic phase of bipolar disorder.
Contact person: Prof M Haag.
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