linoleic-acid and Encephalitis

Elevated saturated free fatty acid levels during over-nutrition lead to hypothalamic inflammation, which perturbs energy homeostasis. Whether brain-derived metabolites are coupled to the development of obesity pathogenesis during the early over-nutrition period has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we found increased linoleic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid, in both the whole brain and hypothalamus of mice fed a high-fat diet for 4 weeks. Furthermore, we observed that linoleic acid effectively reversed the inflammatory responses induced by palmitic acid treatment in microglial cells. Collectively, this study suggests the reversible function of linoleic acid on brain inflammation in association with microglial activation during short-term exposure to a high-fat diet.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Diet, High-Fat; Encephalitis; Linoleic Acid; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microglia; Palmitic Acid

A significant change in the Western diet, concurrent with the obesity epidemic, was a substitution of saturated fatty acids with polyunsaturated, specifically linoleic acid (LA). Despite increasing investigation on type as well as amount of fat, it is unclear which fatty acids are most obesogenic. The objective of this study was to determine the obesogenic potency of LA vs. saturated fatty acids and the involvement of hypothalamic inflammation. Forty-eight mice were divided into four groups: low-fat or three high-fat diets (HFDs, 45% kcals from fat) with LA comprising 1%, 15% and 22.5% of kilocalories, the balance being saturated fatty acids. Over 12 weeks, bodyweight, body composition, food intake, calorimetry, and glycemia assays were performed. Arcuate nucleus and blood were collected for mRNA and protein analysis. All HFD-fed mice were heavier and less glucose tolerant than control. The diet with 22.5% LA caused greater bodyweight gain, decreased activity, and insulin resistance compared to control and 1% LA. All HFDs elevated leptin and decreased ghrelin in plasma. Neuropeptides gene expression was higher in 22.5% HFD. The inflammatory gene Ikk was suppressed in 1% and 22.5% LA. No consistent pattern of inflammatory gene expression was observed, with suppression and augmentation of genes by one or all of the HFDs relative to control. These data indicate that, in male mice, LA induces obesity and insulin resistance and reduces activity more than saturated fat, supporting the hypothesis that increased LA intake may be a contributor to the obesity epidemic.

Topics: Animals; Carbon Dioxide; Chemokine CX3CL1; Diet, Fat-Restricted; Encephalitis; Fatty Acids; Ghrelin; Glucose; Hypothalamus; Leptin; Linoleic Acid; Male; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Weight Gain