Bestimmung von Glycerophospholipid gebundenen Fettsäuren in Erythrozyten und Vergleich des Einbaus von Docosahexaensäure in Glycerophospholipide aus Plasma, Erythrozyten und Wangenschleimhautzellen

Unsere Forschungsgruppe hat eine neue, sensitive und robuste Methode entwickelt, um selektiv die Fettsäuren der Glycerophospholipidfraktion im Plasma zu bestimmen, welche nur wenig vom postprandialen Status des Probanden beeinflusst werden. Bei diesem neuen Verfahren wird die konventionelle Lipidextraktion und deren Auftrennung durch eine methanolische Ausfällung der Proteine mit zusätzlicher Ausfällung von Triglyceriden und Cholesterinestern ersetzt. In Kombination mit basenkatalysierter Synthese von Methylestern bei Raumtemperatur wird die ausschließliche Umesterung der Glycerophopholipid (GPL) Fettsäuren gesichert. In der Vergangenheit hat sich gezeigt, dass sich dieses Verfahren nicht einfach von Plasma auf Erythrozyten übertragen lässt, sodass es notwendig war, die Anwendbarkeit der Plasma-GPL Methode auf Erythrozyten zu überprüfen, zu optimieren und zu validieren, bevor sie in klinischen Studien Anwendung finden kann. Im Rahmen dieser Untersuchung bestimmten wir auch den Omega-3-Index und verglichen diese mit in der Literatur beschriebenen Werten. Außerdem haben wir eine robuste Methode für die Analyse von Wangenschleimhaut Glycerophopholipid (GPL) gebundenen Fettsäuren entwickelt, welche nur wenig Probenmaterial benötigt und einfach anzuwenden ist. Die genannten Methoden zur Extraktion von GPL wurden im Rahmen einer klinischen Interventionsstudie evaluiert. Dabei wurden vor allem der Docosahexanensäure(DHA)-Anstieg im zeitlichen Verlauf der Studie zwischen den verschiedenen Kompartimenten Plasma, Erythrozyten und Wangenschleimhautzellen verglichen und Korrelationen berechnet, um eine Aussage darüber treffen zu können, welcher Biomarker, welche Änderungen widerspiegelt und wie geeignet die Analyse von GPL der Fettsäuren im Vergleich zu langjährig etablierten Markern, wie Gesamt-Phospholipide ist

Efficient and Specific Analysis of Red Blood Cell Glycerophospholipid Fatty Acid Composition

Red blood cell (RBC) n-3 fatty acid status is related to various health outcomes. Accepted biological markers for the fatty acid status determination are RBC phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidyletholamine. The analysis of these lipid fractions is demanding and time consuming and total phospholipid n-3 fatty acid levels might be affected by changes of sphingomyelin contents in the RBC membrane during n-3 supplementation. We developed a method for the specific analysis of RBC glycerophospholipids. The application of the new method in a DHA supplementation trial and the comparison to established markers will determine the relevance of RBC GPL as a valid fatty acid status marker in humans. Methyl esters of glycerophospholipid fatty acids are selectively generated by a two step procedure involving methanolic protein precipitation and base-catalysed methyl ester synthesis. RBC GPL solubilisation is facilitated by ultrasound treatment. Fatty acid status in RBC glycerophospholipids and other established markers were evaluated in thirteen subjects participating in a 30 days supplementation trial (510 mg DHA/d). The intra-assay CV for GPL fatty acids ranged from 1.0 to 10.5% and the inter-assay CV from 1.3 to 10.9%. Docosahexaenoic acid supplementation significantly increased the docosahexaenoic acid contents in all analysed lipid fractions. High correlations were observed for most of the mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and for the omega-3 index (r = 0.924) between RBC phospholipids and glycerophospholipids. The analysis of RBC glycerophospholipid fatty acids yields faster, easier and less costly results equivalent to the conventional analysis of RBC total phospholipids

Comparison of the incorporation of orally administered DHA into plasma, erythrocyte and cheek cell glycerophospholipids

Adequate intake ofn-3 fatty acids plays an important role in human health. The analysis of various blood lipids is used as a measure of fatty acid status in humans. Cheek cell phospholipids (PL) have also been proposed as biological markers, but are rarely used in clinical studies due to limitations in sample quality and quantity. An improved method for the analysis of cheek cell glycerophospholipid fatty acids is applied in a 29 d supplementation trial with 510 mg DHA daily. The DHA increases in cheek cell, plasma and erythrocyte glycerophospholipids are compared. High correlations are shown for glycerophospholipid DHA between cheek cells and plasma (r0·88) and erythrocytes (r0·76) before study commencement. After the daily supplementation of DHA, the half-maximal glycerophospholipid DHA level is reached after about 4 d in plasma, 6 d in erythrocytes and 10 d in cheek cells. The mean DHA increase (mol%) relative to baseline was most prominent in plasma (186 %), followed by cheek cells (180 %) and erythrocytes (130 %). Considering a lag phase of about 5 d, cheek cells reflect short-term changes in dietary fat uptake. Based on the data of the present study, they can be used alternatively to plasma and erythrocyte PL as non-invasiven-3 fatty acid status markers.</jats:p

Intra- and inter-assay reproducibility of the GPL fatty acid analysis.

<p>Mean and SD are expressed as %wt/wt.</p

Correlations between RBC GPL fatty acids and other RBC PL fractions before and after n-3 supplementation.

<p>n.s. not significant.</p

Effects of DHA supplementation on fatty acid composition (%wt/wt) of individual RBC PL fractions.

<p>Differences between study start and end were based on baseline values. Paired t-test: *p<0.05, **p<0.01, *p<0.001.</p

Recovery of total RBC fatty acids using different extraction procedures (<i>P</i><0.05).

<p>Recovery of total RBC fatty acids using different extraction procedures (<i>P</i><0.05).</p

Changes in fatty acids (%wt/wt) during storage of RBC samples (n = 13) in methanol over a period of 8 months at −80°C.

*<p>Differences in fatty acid contents caused through sample storage were related to fatty acid contents of samples without storage. Mean and SD are expressed as %wt/wt. n.s.: not significant.</p