Researchers develop model for how the brain acquires essential omega-3 fatty acids

Findings may aid design of targeted drug delivery into the brain and central nervous system

Researchers at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at UCLA and the National Institutes of Health have developed a zebrafish model that provides new insight into how the brain acquires essential omega-3 fatty acids, including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and linolenic acid (ALA).

Their findings, published in Nature Communications, have the potential to improve understanding of lipid transport across the blood-brain barrier and of disruptions in this process that can lead to birth defects or neurological conditions. The model may also enable researchers to design drug molecules that are capable of directly reaching the brain.

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/researchers-develop-model-how-brain-acquires-essential-omega

https://neurosciencenews.com/bbb-omega-3-23192/

Key Facts:

1. The zebrafish model developed by researchers provides new insights into how the brain acquires essential omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA and ALA.
2. Scientists did not know precisely how the lipid transporter Mfsd2a transports DHA and other omega-3 fatty acids until this study.
3. The study team identified three compartments in Mfsd2a that suggest distinct steps required to move and flip fatty acids through the transporter.