Thinking in polyunsaturated fatty acids, phospholipids, and the brain

The brain is frequently described as being particularly enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), potentially explaining the brain’s vulnerability to ischemia/reperfusion. However, recent findings call this notion into question. Implementing normal-phase HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography), we analyzed phospholipid profiles in brain, heart, kidney, and liver mitochondria and whole tissues and demonstrated that the brain in rats was the least enriched with PUFAs. Although the least enriched with PUFAs, brain phospholipids were the most significantly altered by ischemia using our rat model of cardiac arrest. Furthermore, the brain was unable to repair phospholipid alterations caused by ischemia following reperfusion. Overall, brain phospholipids are the least enriched with PUFAs, yet undergo the most significant alterations following ischemia/reperfusion. These findings demonstrate the need for a more global approach to the role of phospholipids and PUFAs in brain health and disease.