Disturbed brain phospholipid and docosahexaenoic acid metabolism in calcium-independent phospholipase A2-VIA (iPLA2β)-knockout mice

Calcium-independent phospholipase A(2) group VIA (iPLA(2)β) releases docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from phospholipids in vitro. Mutations in the iPLA(2)β gene, PLA2G6, are associated with dystonia-parkinsonism and infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy. To understand the role of iPLA(2)β in brain, we applied our in vivo kinetic method using radiolabeled DHA in 4 to 5-month-old wild type (iPLA(2)β(+/+)) and knockout (iPLA(2)β(-/-)) mice, and measured brain DHA kinetics, lipid concentrations, and expression of PLA(2), cyclooxygenase (COX), and lipoxygenase (LOX) enzymes. Compared to iPLA(2)β(+/+) mice, iPLA(2)β(-/-) mice showed decreased rates of incorporation of unesterified DHA from plasma into brain phospholipids, reduced concentrations of several fatty acids (including DHA) esterified in ethanolamine- and serine-glycerophospholipids, and increased lysophospholipid fatty acid concentrations. DHA turnover in brain phospholipids did not differ between genotypes. In iPLA(2)β(-/-) mice, brain levels of iPLA(2)β mRNA, protein, and activity were decreased, as was the iPLA(2)γ (Group VIB PLA(2)) mRNA level, while levels of secretory sPLA(2)-V mRNA, protein, and activity and cytosolic cPLA(2)-IVA mRNA were increased. Levels of COX-1 protein were decreased in brain, while COX-2 protein and mRNA were increased. Levels of 5-, 12-, and 15-LOX proteins did not differ significantly between genotypes. Thus, a genetic iPLA(2)β deficiency in mice is associated with reduced DHA metabolism, profound changes in lipid-metabolizing enzyme expression (demonstrating lack of redundancy) and of phospholipid fatty acid content of brain (particularly of DHA), which may be relevant to neurologic abnormalities in humans with PLA2G6 mutations.