The Effect of Perinatal Supplementation of DHA and Egg Yolk on DHA-Derived Specialized Pro-resolving Lipid Mediators

Objectives: Specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) derived from docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have recently been investigated for their role in neuroprotection. DHA and egg yolk, a nutrient dense food, are often recommended during pregnancy to enhance neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring. Using a pig model, we examined how perinatal supplementation of DHA and egg yolk altered DHA-derived SPMs in the brain of offspring. Methods: Pregnant sows were fed a control diet (CON; n=6), a diet with egg yolk (EGG; n=5, ∼3 eggs/day for humans), DHA (n=6, 75 mg DHA/kg BW/day), or DHA and egg yolk (DHA+EGG; n=4) from gestation through lactation. Brain tissue from prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus (HC), and cerebellum (CERE) were collected from piglet offspring at weaning (n=2/sow). Tissue DHA-derived SPMs, including protectins (PDs), hydroxyDHAs (HDHAs), D-series resolvin 1 (RvD1), and Maresin1, were quantified using LC-MS. Results: PDs and HDHAs have pro-resolving properties. PDs were higher in the CERE than those in the PFC and HC, and HDHAs were higher in CERE and PFC than in HC. DHA supplementation increased levels of PDs and HDHAs in the CERE and PFC, while having no significant effect in HC. Interestingly, DHA+EGG significantly augmented PD1 and HDHAs in the HC of offspring, while not further changing them in the CERE or PFC compared to DHA alone. RvD1 and Maresin1 are derived from HDHAs. RvD1 was higher in the PFC than the other two regions, and Maresin1 was higher in the CERE or PFC than the HC. Perinatal DHA intake did not affect RVD1 or Maresin1 in any of the three brain regions. Supplementing DHA+EGG, however, increased both RvD1 and Maresin1 in the HC compared to CON, DHA, and EGG piglets but had no effect in the other regions. Conclusions: DHA-derived SPMs in the brain of offspring may be altered in a region-specific manner following perinatal intake of DHA, egg yolk, and DHA with egg yolk. These findings suggest that SPMs may play a role in the association between perinatal nutritional status and cognition of offspring. Funding Sources: The study was funded by United States Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (2020-67017-30839), Egg Nutrition Center, Georgia Experimental Agricultural Station (HATCH, #GEO001002) to Hea Jin Park, and National Institutes of Health grants (S10RR027926, S10OD032292) to Lipidomics Core Facility of Wayne State University.