Effects of acute hypoxia on incorporation of [1-14C]arachidonic into glycerolipids of rat brain.

The effects of 1 min of acute hypoxic treatment (1% O2 in N2) on incorporation of [1-14C]arachidonic acid into brain lipids of 16-day-old rats were investigated at 3, 6, and 12 min after intracerebral injection of the labeled fatty acid. The hypoxic-hypoxia condition associated with convulsive seizures caused a decrease in the conversion of labeled arachidonate to its acyl-CoA as well as incorporation of the label into the brain phospholipids. Among the phospholipids, there was a specific decrease in the labeling of diacylglycerophosphoinositol (GPI), and this change was accompanied by an increase in labeling of the diacylglycerols. These results indicate that metabolism of the long-chain fatty acids and some glycerolipids in brain are vulnerable to acute hypoxic treatment.