1. Effects of omega-3 supplementation on anxiety-like behaviors and neuroinflammation in Wistar rats following cafeteria diet-induced obesity.
- Author
-
González LPF, Rodrigues FDS, Jantsch J, Fraga GF, Squizani S, Castro LFDS, Correia LL, Neto JP, Giovenardi M, Porawski M, and Guedes RP
- Subjects
- Rats, Male, Animals, Rats, Wistar, Neuroinflammatory Diseases, Obesity etiology, Obesity metabolism, Diet, Anxiety etiology, Anxiety prevention & control, Dietary Supplements, Toll-Like Receptor 4, Fatty Acids, Omega-3 pharmacology
- Abstract
ABSTRACT Objetives: Omega-3 (n3) fatty acids have been studied as an option to alleviate the harmful effects of obesity. However, its role in obesity-related behavioral changes is still controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of n3 on behavior and neuroinflammation in obese animals. Methods: Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: control diet (CT), CT+n3, cafeteria diet (CAF), and CAF+n3. Diet was administered for 13 weeks, and n3 was supplemented during the last 5 weeks. Metabolic and biochemical parameters were evaluated, as well as anxiety-like behaviors. Immunoblots were conducted in the animals' cerebral cortex and hippocampus to assess changes in neuroinflammatory markers. Results: CAF-fed animals showed higher weight gain, visceral adiposity, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and insulin levels, and n3 improved the lipid profile and restored insulin sensitivity. CAF-fed rats showed anxiety-like behaviors in the open field and light-dark box tasks but not in the contextual aversive conditioning. Omega-3 did not exert any effect on these behaviors. Regarding neuroinflammation, diet and supplementation acted in a region-specific manner. In the hippocampus, CAF reduced claudin-5 expression with no effect of n3, indicating a brain-blood barrier disruption following CAF. Furthermore, in the hippocampus, the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4) were reduced in treated obese animals. However, n3 could not reverse the TLR-4 expression increase in the cerebral cortex. Discussion: Although n3 may protect against some neuroinflammatory manifestations in the hippocampus, it does not seem sufficient to reverse the increase in anxiolytic manifestations caused by CAF.
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF