DHA protects brain cells from protein misfolding

New findings presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, Experimental Biology, show that an omega-3 fatty  acid in the diet protects brain cells by preventing the misfolding of a  protein caused by a gene mutation, a process implicated in  neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's.

A team led by Nicolas Bazan, director of the Neuroscience Center of  Excellence at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, USA, developed a  cell model with a mutation of the Ataxin-1 gene that results in  mis-shaped proteins that cannot be properly processed by the cell  machinery, leading to tangled clumps of toxic protein that eventually  kill the cell. Spinocerebellar ataxia, a disabling disorder that affects  speech and coordination, is caused by an Ataxin-1 misfolding defect.  The research team found that the omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic  acid, protects cells from this defect.

Dr Bazan's laboratory discovered earlier that neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1),  a naturally-occurring molecule in the human brain that is derived from  DHA, also promotes brain cell survival. In this system, NPD1 is capable  of rescuing the dying cells with the pathological type of Ataxin-1,  keeping their integrity intact.