Synergistic Effects of DHA and Sucrose on Body Weight Gain in PUFA-Deficient Elovl2 -/- Mice

The omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is implicated in theregulation of both lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. Thus, we questioned whether dietary DHAand low or high content of sucrose impact on metabolism in mice deficient for elongation of verylong-chain fatty acids 2 (ELOVL2), an enzyme involved in the endogenous DHA synthesis. Wefound that Elovl2 -/- mice fed a high-sucrose DHA-enriched diet followed by the high sucrose, highfat challenge significantly increased body weight. This diet affected the triglyceride rich lipoproteinfraction of plasma lipoproteins and changed the expression of several genes involved in lipidmetabolism in a white adipose tissue. Our findings suggest that lipogenesis in mammals issynergistically influenced by DHA dietary and sucrose content.