Just minutes ago I made a post about PUFA driving obesity, inflammation, and liver damage in diabetes II patients. The omega-6 fatty acid DLGA (a metabolite of linoleic acid) was the main pathological factor examined in that study. Now, a new study study demonstrates that DLGA may also cause sterility. Official estimates indicate that 1 in every 4 young couples is infertile or even sterile. Considering how ubiquitous PUFA is, the findings of the study make perfect sense.
Epoxides Derived from Dietary Dihomo-Gamma-Linolenic Acid Induce Germ Cell Death in C. elegans
"...Dietary DGLA causes C. elegans to become sterile due to destruction of germ cells during larval development. Through genetic, biochemical and morphological studies, we demonstrate here that CYP-33E2 acts on dietary DGLA to produce two toxic metabolites, 8,9- and 14,15-EED, that mediate the destruction of germ cells. This is the first example of a DGLA-derived epoxide with physiological activity."
"...However, our studies demonstrate that an overabundance of DGLA in the diet leads to the synthesis of 8,9-EED and 14,15-EED, which may interfere with a physiological signal or act as toxins triggering germ defects and death. The specificity of these two isomers is critical to the germ cell phenotype, because exposure to 11,12-EED did not lead to germ cell abnormalities. Alternatively, our experiments do not rule out possibility that exposure to excess DGLA-derived epoxides lead to germ cell defects indirectly, for example, due to the disruption of signaling pathways that are regulated by a specific membrane lipid milieu37."
Epoxides Derived from Dietary Dihomo-Gamma-Linolenic Acid Induce Germ Cell Death in C. elegans
"...Dietary DGLA causes C. elegans to become sterile due to destruction of germ cells during larval development. Through genetic, biochemical and morphological studies, we demonstrate here that CYP-33E2 acts on dietary DGLA to produce two toxic metabolites, 8,9- and 14,15-EED, that mediate the destruction of germ cells. This is the first example of a DGLA-derived epoxide with physiological activity."
"...However, our studies demonstrate that an overabundance of DGLA in the diet leads to the synthesis of 8,9-EED and 14,15-EED, which may interfere with a physiological signal or act as toxins triggering germ defects and death. The specificity of these two isomers is critical to the germ cell phenotype, because exposure to 11,12-EED did not lead to germ cell abnormalities. Alternatively, our experiments do not rule out possibility that exposure to excess DGLA-derived epoxides lead to germ cell defects indirectly, for example, due to the disruption of signaling pathways that are regulated by a specific membrane lipid milieu37."
