Maternal dietary n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid deprivation does not exacerbate post-weaning reductions in arachidonic acid and its mediators in the mouse hippocampus

Objectives: The present study examines how lowering maternal dietary n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (starting from pregnancy) compared to offspring (starting from post-weaning) affect the levels of n-6 and n-3 fatty acids in phospholipids (PL) and lipid mediators in the hippocampus of mice.Methods: Pregnant mice were randomly assigned to consume either a deprived or an adequate n-6 PUFA diet during pregnancy and lactation (maternal exposure). On postnatal day (PND) 21, half of the male pups were weaned onto the same diet as their dams, and the other half were switched to the other diet for 9 weeks (offspring exposure). At PND 84, upon head-focused high-energy microwave irradiation, hippocampi were collected for PL fatty acid and lipid mediator analyses.Results: Arachidonic acid (ARA) concentrations were significantly decreased in both total PL and PL fractions, while eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) concentrations were increased only in PL fractions upon n-6 PUFA deprivation of offspring, regardless of...