Linoleic acid synthesis

Figure 4.1 Biosynthetic pathways of those CLA isomers present in the most abundant quantities in human foods. Ruminal formation is marked with sohd arrow, while formation in other organs by A -desaturase reaction is shown with dotted arrows (according to CoUomb et al. (2006), Buccioni et al. (2012) and Lerch et al. (2012)). Question marks indicate that the exact mechanism is unclear. The underlined compounds are the conjugated linoleic acid isomers. The compounds without underline are the intermediaries of conjugated linoleic acid synthesis.

Conjugated Linoleic Acid Synthesis within the Gut Microbial Ecosystem of Ruminants... 

In sunflower, however, the development of a high oleic strain, by treatment of the Peredovick cultivar with chemical mutagens followed by selection for high oleic acid, resulted in an almost complete Inhibition of linoleic acid synthesis (Table 4). Fick (1984) has reported the high oleic acid characteristic to be largely controlled by a single, partially dominant gene. 

When the level of nitrogen in the medium falls below that required for laying down cell tissue, many protists store available carbon (from the medium or supplied by photosynthesis) as carbohydrates or lipids. In storage lipids, the fatty acid moieties which tend to predominate are oleic, palmitic, and sometimes linoleic acids. Synthesis of storage fat may be depressed when there is high ratio of available nitrogen to carbon. 

Some fatty acids are not synthesized by mammals and yet are necessary for normal growth and life. These essential fatty aeids include llnoleic and y-linolenic acids. These must be obtained by mammals in their diet (specifically from plant sources). Arachidonic acid, which is not found in plants, can only be synthesized by mammals from linoleic acid. At least one function of the essential fatty acids is to serve as a precursor for the synthesis of eicosanoids, such as... 

Mammals can add additional double bonds to unsaturated fatty acids in their diets. Their ability to make arachidonic acid from linoleic acid is one example (Figure 25.15). This fatty acid is the precursor for prostaglandins and other biologically active derivatives such as leukotrienes. Synthesis involves formation of a linoleoyl ester of CoA from dietary linoleic acid, followed by introduction of a double bond at the 6-position. The triply unsaturated product is then elongated (by malonyl-CoA with a decarboxylation step) to yield a 20-carbon fatty acid with double bonds at the 8-, 11-, and 14-positions. A second desaturation reaction at the 5-position followed by an acyl-CoA synthetase reaction (Chapter 24) liberates the product, a 20-carbon fatty acid with double bonds at the 5-, 8-, IT, and ITpositions. 

FIGURE 3-7 Pathways for the interconversion of brain fatty acids. Palmitic acid (16 0) is the main end product of brain fatty acid synthesis. It may then be elongated, desaturated, and/or P-oxidized to form different long chain fatty acids. The monoenes (18 1 A7, 18 1 A9, 24 1 A15) are the main unsaturated fatty acids formed de novo by A9 desaturation and chain elongation. As shown, the very long chain fatty acids are a-oxidized to form a-hydroxy and odd numbered fatty acids. The polyunsaturated fatty acids are formed mainly from exogenous dietary fatty acids, such as linoleic (18 2, n-6) and a-linoleic (18 2, n-3) acids by chain elongation and desaturation at A5 and A6, as shown. A A4 desaturase has also been proposed, but its existence has been questioned. Instead, it has been shown that unsaturation at the A4 position is effected by retroconversion i.e. A6 unsaturation in the endoplasmic reticulum, followed by one cycle of P-oxidation (-C2) in peroxisomes [11], This is illustrated in the biosynthesis of DHA (22 6, n-3) above. In severe essential fatty acid deficiency, the abnormal polyenes, such as 20 3, n-9 are also synthesized de novo to substitute for the normal polyunsaturated acids. 

Lie and coworkers31 reported the synthesis and NMR properties of all geometrical isomers of conjugated linoleic acids. Pure geometric isomers of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) were prepared from castor oil as the primary starting material. Methyl octadeca-9Z, 11 /i-dienoate (36) and methyl octadeca-9Z,llZ-dienoate (38) were obtained by zinc reduction of methyl santalbate (35, methyl octadec-11 -en-9-ynoatc) and methyl... 

Two fatty acids are dietary essentials in humans (see p. 361) linoleic acid, which is the precursor of arachidonic acid, the sub strate for prostaglandin synthesis (see p. 211), and linolenic acid, the precursor of other co-3 fatty acids important for growth and development. [Note A deficiency of linolenic acid results in decreased vision and altered learning behaviors.] Arachidonic add becomes essential if linoleic acid is deficient in the diet. 

Figure 21-3 Major pathways of synthesis of fatty acids and glycerolipids in the green plant Arabidopsis. The major site of fatty acid synthesis is chloroplasts. Most is exported to the cytosol as oleic acid (18 1). After conversion to its coenzyme A derivative it is converted to phosphatidic acid (PA), diacylglycerol (DAG), and the phospholipids phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Desaturation also occurs, and some linoleic and linolenic acids are returned to the chloroplasts. See text also. From Sommerville and Browse.106 See also Figs. 21-4 and 21-5. Other abbreviations monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGD), digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGD), sulfolipid (SL), glycerol 3-phosphate (G3P), lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), acyl carrier protein (ACP), cytidine diphosphate-DAG (CDP-DAG).

Synthesis in mammalian tissues of arachidonic acid from linoleic acid. The A5 and A6 desaturases are separate enzymes and are also different from the A9 desaturase (fig. 18.16). The mechanisms, however, seem to be the same, involving cytochrome b5 and cytochrome reductase. The enzymes for elongation of unsaturated fatty acid such as 18 3 to 20 3 occur on the endoplasmic reticulum. 

The composition of the free fatty acids is also unique. In both human and pig stratum cornea, the free fatty acid fraction consists mainly of long and saturated hydrocarbon chains [44,45], Oleic and linoleic acid are the only unsaturated free fatty acids detected in the stratum corneum. There are various sterols present in human stratum corneum, of which cholesterol predominates. Cholesterol is the only major lipid class that is present in both plasma membranes and the intercellular lipid lamellae. Cholesterol is synthesized in the epidermis and this synthesis is independent of the hepatic one. A minor fraction is sulfated to... 

Saturated fatty acids or unsaturated fatty acids, such as oleic acid (18 1, n-9), can be synthesized by normal mammalian cells that posses elongation and desaturation enzymes (Rosenthal, 1987). However, the polyunsaturated fatty acids of the n-3 and n-6 group, such as linoleic acid (18 2, n-6) or linolenic acid (18 3, n-3), are essential nutrients for animals because they are precursors for the synthesis of eicosanoid hormones such as prostaglandins (Needleman et al., 1986). 

Linoleic acid has been shown to enhance the proliferation of mouse mammary epithelial cells by metabolism to arachidonic acid, which is a precursor of prostaglandin E2 (Bandyopadhyay et al., 1987). However, the mechanism of growth promotion of the unsaturated fatty acids in culture may be related to their importance in the synthesis of cellular membranes (Rintoul et al., 1978 Rockwell et al., 1980), which may have a significant effect on membrane fluidity (Calder et al., 1994). 

Karsten S, Schafer G, Schauder P (1994), Cytokine production and DNA synthesis in human peripheral lymphocytes in response to palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids, J. Cell Physiol. 161 15-22. 

Liu, K-L. and Belury, M.A., Conjugated linoleic acid reduces arachidonic acid content and PGE2 synthesis in murine keratinocytes, Cancer Lett., 1 A, 1050, 1998. 

Baumgard, L.H., Corl, B.A., Dwyer, D.A., Saebo, A., Bauman, D.E. 2000. Identification of the conjugated linoleic acid isomer that inhibits milk fat synthesis. Am. J. Physiol. 278, R179-184. 

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