What is it about?
Simply, there are two sections. First is the protein mediated uptake of fatty acids into the brain via the blood brain barrier. Insulin's stimulation of translocation of the FATP to the membrane is an important control step that is similar to GLUT4. The second part puts forth the hypothesis that the blood brain barrier works as a metabolic check and balance for fatty acid uptake into the brain. Fatty acids not normally found in the brain are metabolized (edited to put it into a DNA type of concept) to fatty acids that are readily found in the brain.
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Why is it important?
Simply, it puts forth an important concept that the blood brain barrier may act to metabolize fatty acids that enter via that route if the fatty acids are not normally found in the brain. It adds another level of control to the system.
Perspectives
This came out of work that we did to determine if erucic acid, the active component of Lorenzo's Oil entered the brain. Hugo Moser and I had discussed this topic numerous times and it was a bit of a stumbling block due to early studies showing boys who consumed Lorenzo's Oil did not have elevated 22:1n-9 levels. Our work offers a possible explanation for those previous observations and adds clarity to the use of this method to treat young boys with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy.
Eric Murphy
University of North Dakota
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The blood-brain barrier and protein-mediated fatty acid uptake: role of the blood-brain barrier as a metabolic barrier, Journal of Neurochemistry, March 2017, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/jnc.14000.
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