Maternal omega-3 fatty acid supplementation protects against lipopolysaccharide-induced white matter injury in the neonatal rat brain.

OBJECTIVES

Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is the predominant form of brain injury in premature infants, and no specific treatment currently exists for this condition. We have evaluated whether maternal omega-3 fatty acid (ω3 FA) treatment reduces endotoxin-induced PVL in the developing rat brain.

METHODS

Wistar rats with dated pregnancies were fed a standard diet or a diet enriched in ω3 FA (70% docosahexaenoic acid + 30% eicosapentaenoic acid mixture) during gestation. Intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was administered consecutively on the 18th and 19th embryonic days to establish the endotoxin-induced PVL rat model. The animals were divided into four groups: (i) control, (ii) PVL, (iii) PVL+low-dose ω3 FA and (iv) PVL+high-dose ω3 FA. At day P7, apoptosis and hypomyelination in periventricular white matter were evaluated by immunohistochemical assessments.

RESULTS

High-dose maternal ω3 FA treatment reduced brain weight loss. Maternal ω3 FA treatment given either in low or high doses greatly decreased caspase-3 immunoreactivity and increased myelin basic protein immunoreactivity, indicating a decrease in apoptosis and hypomyelination.

CONCLUSION

Considering that no specific treatment is available for PVL, maternal ω3 FA supplementation may provide a nutritional strategy to limit periventricular white matter damage caused by infections during pregnancy.