Dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) downregulates liver DHA synthesis by inhibiting eicosapentaenoic acid elongation

DHA is abundant in brain where it regulates cell survival, neurogenesis and neuroinflammation. DHA can be obtained from the diet or synthesized from alpha-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3n-3) via a series of desaturation and elongation reactions occurring in the liver. Tracer studies suggest that dietary DHA can downregulate its own synthesis, but the mechanism remains undetermined and is the primary objective of this paper. First, we show by tracing 13C content (δ13C) of DHA via compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA), that following low dietary DHA, the brain receives DHA synthesized from ALA. We then show that dietary DHA increases mouse liver and serum EPA, which is dependant on ALA. Furthermore, by CSIA we demonstrate that the source of increased EPA is slowed EPA metabolism, not increased DHA retroconversion as previously assumed. DHA feeding alone or with ALA lowered liver elongation of very long-chain (ELOVL2, EPA elongation) enzyme activity despite no change in protein content. To further evaluate the role of ELOVL2, a liver-specific Elovl2 knockout was generated showing that DHA feeding in the presence or absence of a functional liver ELOVL2 yields similar results. An enzyme competition assay for EPA elongation suggests both uncompetitive and non-competitive inhibition by DHA depending on DHA levels. To translate our findings, we show that DHA supplementation in men and women increases EPA levels in a manner dependent on a SNP (rs953413) in the ELOVL2 gene. In conclusion, we identify a novel feedback inhibition pathway where dietary DHA downregulates its liver synthesis by inhibiting EPA elongation.