Elevated plasma phospholipid n-3 docosapentaenoic acid concentrations during hibernation

• Published in: PLOS ONE
• Main Authors: Strandvik, Birgitta, Qureshi, Abdul Rashid, Painer, Johanna, Backman-Johansson, Carolina, Engvall, Martin, Fröbert, Ole, Kindberg, Jonas, Stenvinkel, Peter, Giroud, Sylvain
• Other Authors: Sakakibara, Manabu, Hjärt-Lungfonden, Stiftelsen Stig och Gunborg Westman, Stockholms Läns Landsting, Center for Innovative Medicine, Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien, Austrian Science Fund
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023
• Subjects: Ursus arctos
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0285782; https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0285782

Factors for initiating hibernation are unknown, but the condition shares some metabolic similarities with consciousness/sleep, which has been associated with n-3 fatty acids in humans. We investigated plasma phospholipid fatty acid profiles during hibernation and summer in free-ranging brown bears ( Ursus arctos ) and in captive garden dormice ( Eliomys quercinus ) contrasting in their hibernation patterns. The dormice received three different dietary fatty acid concentrations of linoleic acid (LA) (19%, 36% and 53%), with correspondingly decreased alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) (32%, 17% and 1.4%). Saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids showed small differences between summer and hibernation in both species. The dormice diet influenced n-6 fatty acids and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) concentrations in plasma phospholipids. Consistent differences between summer and hibernation in bears and dormice were decreased ALA and EPA and marked increase of n-3 docosapentaenoic acid and a minor increase of docosahexaenoic acid in parallel with several hundred percent increase of the activity index of elongase ELOVL2 transforming C20-22 fatty acids. The highest LA supply was unexpectantly associated with the highest transformation of the n-3 fatty acids. Similar fatty acid patterns in two contrasting hibernating species indicates a link to the hibernation phenotype and requires further studies in relation to consciousness and metabolism.