Impact of a high-fat diet on the fatty acid composition of the retina

• Published in: Experimental eye research 2020-07, Vol.196, p.108059-108059, Article 108059
• Main Authors: Albouery, Mayssa, Buteau, Bénédicte, Grégoire, Stéphane, Martine, Lucy, Gambert, Ségolène, Bron, Alain M., Acar, Niyazi, Chassaing, Benoit, Bringer, Marie-Agnès
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adiposity - drug effects; alpha-Linolenic Acid - metabolism; Animals; Blood Glucose - metabolism; Chromatography, Gas; Diet, High-Fat - adverse effects; Dyslipidemias - etiology; Essential fatty acids; Fatty Acids - metabolism; Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated - metabolism; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated - metabolism; Food and Nutrition; High-fat diet; Human health and pathology; Hyperglycemia - etiology; Life Sciences; Linoleic Acids - metabolism; Liver - metabolism; Male; Metabolic syndrome; Metabolic Syndrome - etiology; Metabolic Syndrome - metabolism; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Monounsaturated fatty acids; Plasmalogens; Plasmalogens - metabolism; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; Retina; Retina - metabolism; Saturated fatty acids; Sensory Organs; Weight Gain - drug effects
• ISSN: 0014-4835; 1096-0007
• DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2020.108059

Structure and function of the retina mainly rely on its fatty acid (FA) composition. Evidence from epidemiological studies and from animal experiments indicates that FA composition of the retina is influenced by the diet. Mice under chronic high-fat diet (HFD) develop metabolic syndrome, a risk factor for diabetes that is associated with structural and functional alterations of the retina. Here, we studied the impact of chronic exposure of mice to HFD on retinal FA composition. C57BL/6 J male mice were fed either a chow diet or a HFD for 11 weeks. As expected, HFD induced weight gain, adiposity, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia. The retinal FA composition was determined by gas chromatography coupled to flame ionization detection. No significant change in the relative abundance of total saturated FAs (SFAs), total monounsaturated FAs (MUFAs) or total polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) was observed. However, retinas of HFD-fed mice displayed decreased amounts of C24:0 (p = 0.0231), C16:1n-7 (p