{"doi":"10.1194/jlr.ra120001057","title":"Bioavailability and spatial distribution of fatty acids in the rat retina after dietary omega-3 supplementation","abstract":"Spatial changes of FAs in the retina in response to different dietary n-3 formulations have never been explored, although a diet rich in EPA and DHA is recommended to protect the retina against the effects of aging. In this study, Wistar rats were fed for 8 weeks with balanced diet including either EPA-containing phospholipids (PLs), EPA-containing TGs, DHA-containing PLs, or DHA-containing TGs. Qualitative changes in FA composition of plasma, erythrocytes, and retina were evaluated by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector. Following the different dietary intakes, changes to the quantity and spatial organization of PC and PE species in retina were determined by LC coupled to MS/MS and MALDI coupled to MS imaging. The omega-3 content in the lipids of plasma and erythrocytes suggests that PLs as well as TGs are good omega-3 carriers for retina. However, a significant increase in DHA content in retina was observed, especially molecular species as di-DHA-containing PC and PE, as well as an increase in very long chain PUFAs (more than 28 carbons) following PL-EPA and TG-DHA diets only. All supplemented diets triggered spatial organization changes of DHA in the photoreceptor layer around the optic nerve. Taken together, these findings suggest that dietary omega-3 supplementation can modify the content of FAs in the rat retina. Spatial changes of FAs in the retina in response to different dietary n-3 formulations have never been explored, although a diet rich in EPA and DHA is recommended to protect the retina against the effects of aging. In this study, Wistar rats were fed for 8 weeks with balanced diet including either EPA-containing phospholipids (PLs), EPA-containing TGs, DHA-containing PLs, or DHA-containing TGs. Qualitative changes in FA composition of plasma, erythrocytes, and retina were evaluated by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector. Following the different dietary intakes, changes to the quantity and spatial organization of PC and PE species in retina were determined by LC coupled to MS/MS and MALDI coupled to MS imaging. The omega-3 content in the lipids of plasma and erythrocytes suggests that PLs as well as TGs are good omega-3 carriers for retina. However, a significant increase in DHA content in retina was observed, especially molecular species as di-DHA-containing PC and PE, as well as an increase in very long chain PUFAs (more than 28 carbons) following PL-EPA and TG-DHA diets only. All supplemented diets triggered spatial organization changes of DHA in the photoreceptor layer around the optic nerve. Taken together, these findings suggest that dietary omega-3 supplementation can modify the content of FAs in the rat retina. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness after the age of 55 years in Western populations and the third most common cause of severe visual impairment worldwide (1Flaxman S.R. Bourne R.R.A. Resnikoff S. Ackland P. Braithwaite T. Cicinelli M.V. Das A. Jonas J.B. Keeffe J. Kempen J.H. et al.Global causes of blindness and distance vision impairment 1990–2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Lancet Glob. Health. 2017; 5: e1221-e1234Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (1492) Google Scholar, 2Klaver C.C. Wolfs R.C. Vingerling J.R. Hofman A. de Jong P.T. Age-specific prevalence and causes of blindness and visual impairment in an older population: the Rotterdam Study.Arch. Ophthalmol. 1998; 116: 653-658Crossref PubMed Scopus (751) Google Scholar). High dietary intake of omega-3 (n-3) long chain (LC)-PUFAs (C18–22) is associated with a lower risk of developing AMD (3Querques G. Forte R. Souied E.H. Retina and omega-3.J. Nutr. Metab. 2011; 2011748361 Crossref PubMed Scopus (50) Google Scholar). In the Blue Mountains Eye Study population, participants in the highest quantile of n-3 polyunsaturated fat intake had a lower risk of incident early age-related maculopathy compared with those in the lowest quantile (odds ratio: 0.41). Consumption","journal":"Journal of Lipid Research","year":2020,"id":70098,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":20,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9491,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2020-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":372713,"name":"Bokkyoo Jun","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":371139,"name":"William C. Gordon","orcid":"0000-0002-3929-9500","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":372714,"name":"Marie‐Annick Maire","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":372715,"name":"Lucy Martine","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":372716,"name":"Stéphane Gregoire","orcid":null,"position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":371140,"name":"Spiro Khoury","orcid":"0000-0003-0365-7406","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":372717,"name":"Stéphanie Cabaret","orcid":null,"position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":371141,"name":"Olivier Berdeaux","orcid":"0000-0003-3675-0324","position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":371142,"name":"Niyazi Acar","orcid":"0000-0002-3401-8079","position":9,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":371143,"name":"Lionel Brétillon","orcid":"0000-0002-6957-100X","position":10,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":371144,"name":"Nicolás G. Bazán","orcid":"0000-0002-9243-5444","position":11,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":371138,"name":"Elisa Vidal","orcid":"0000-0002-8706-3877","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":74,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-18T21:43:11.119231Z","pmid":"33127836","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}