Hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrase and trans-2,3-enoyl-CoA reductase activities are consistent with long-chain fatty acid accumulation during rat brain development
Résumé
The developmental changes of microsomal 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrase and trans-2,3-enoyl-CoA reductase activities were analyzed and compared to very-long-chain fatty acid content and biosynthesis in rat brain. Contrary to the elongation rate of eicosanoyl-CoA and 3-hydroxyeicosanoyl-CoA, which paralleled myelination during brain maturation, the two partial activities of fatty acid elongation were already present at the earliest stages of development. One day after birth, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrase and trans-2,3-enoyl-CoA reductase specific activities already represented 54.8% and 49.6% of the adult values, respectively. As a contribution to the quantitative estimation of the brain's ability to form its own VLCFA, it is shown that dehydrase and reductase activities are sufficient to allow the biosynthesis of all rat brain VLCFA at any age.