Chain reactions: Early-life stress alters the metabolic profile of plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids in adulthood

The rat maternal separation paradigm can be used to examine the biological consequences of early-life stress. Immunomodulatory polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have recently attracted attention in the study of stress-related disorders. We established the plasma PUFA profile of maternally separated rodents compared to controls. Our results identify a proinflammatory PUFA profile as a persistent consequence of early-life stress and suggest new avenues of investigation in stress-related disorders. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.