Journal
NEUROCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL
Volume 109, Issue -, Pages 68-77Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2017.03.018
Keywords
Cerebral energy metabolism; Mitochondria; Fatty acids; beta-Oxidation; Ketone bodies; Phytanic acid
Categories
Funding
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [Re 563/22-1]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The brain uses long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) to a negligible extent as fuel for the mitochondrial energy generation, in contrast to other tissues that also demand high energy. Besides this generally accepted view, some studies using cultured neural cells or whole brain indicate a moderately active mitochondrial beta-oxidation. Here, we corroborate the conclusion that brain mitochondria are unable to oxidize fatty acids. In contrast, the combustion of liver-derived ketone bodies by neural cells is long-known. Furthermore, new insights indicate the use of odd-numbered medium-chain fatty acids as valuable source for maintaining the level of intermediates of the citric acid cycle in brain mitochondria. Nonesterified LCFAs or their activated forms exert a large variety of harmful side-effects on mitochondria, such as enhancing the mitochondrial ROS generation in distinct steps of the beta-oxidation and therefore potentially increasing oxidative stress. Hence, the question arises: Why do in brain energy metabolism mitochondria selectively spurn LCFAs as energy source? The most likely answer are the relatively higher content of peroxidation-sensitive polyunsaturated fatty acids and the low antioxidative defense in brain tissue. There are two remarkable peroxisomal defects, one relating to alpha-oxidation of phytanic acid and the other to uptake of very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) which lead to pathologically high tissue levels of such fatty acids. Both, the accumulation of phytanic acid and that of VLCFAs give an enlightening insight into harmful activities of fatty acids on neural cells, which possibly explain why evolution has prevented brain mitochondria from the equipment with significant beta-oxidation enzymatic capacity. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available