Functional analysis of fatty acid binding proteins in the brain

研究表明，脂肪酸，特别是二十二碳六烯酸和花生四烯酸，在包括学习和记忆功能在内的多种脑功能中具有重要作用。脑型脂肪酸结合蛋白（B--FABP）属于细胞内脂质结合蛋白家族。B-FABP与二十二碳六烯酸（docosahexaenoic acid，DNA）具有较高的结合力，DNA对学习记忆功能的影响已被证实，B-FABP定位于啮齿类动物胚胎脑的心室胚细胞和成年脑的星形胶质细胞。本研究制备了B-FABP基因无效突变的小鼠，并对基因敲除小鼠进行了表型分析，显示出学习和记忆功能受损。脑内DNA含量下降，但未发现脑内任何组织学变化。此外，NMDA受体介导的电流对DNA的反应在分离的海马神经元从B-FABP突变小鼠与野生型小鼠相比，显着降低。这些数据表明，神经胶质中的B-FABP与DHA对学习和记忆的众所周知的作用密切相关。

It was shown that fatty acids, especially docosahexiaenoic acid and arachidonic acid, are important in the verious brain functions, including learning and memory functions. Brain type-fatty acid binding protein (B--FABP) belongs to a family of intracellular lipid binding proteins. B-FABP exhibits a higher binding affinity to docosahexaenoic acid (DNA) whose effect on learning and memory function has been documented, and it is localized in the ventricular germinal cells in embryonic brain and astroglia in adult brain of rodents. The present study generated mice harboring a null mutation in the B-FABP gene and the phenotype analysis of the gene-knockout mice exhibited the impaired learning, and memory function. and the decreased content of DNA in their brain without detection of any histological changes in the brain. Furthermore, the response of NMDA receptor-mediated current to DNA in isolated hippocampal neurons from the B-FABP mutant mice was significantly decreased in comparison with that of wild mice. These data indicate that B-FABP in the glia is intimately involved in the well-known effect of DHA on learning and memory.