Vitamin A Supplementation Increases the Uptake of Chylomicron Retinyl Esters into the Brain of Neonatal Rats Raised under Vitamin A-Marginal Conditions [Nutrient Physiology, Metabolism, and Nutrient-Nutrient Interactions]

Background: The most rapid phase of brain development occurs during the neonatal period. Vitamin A (VA; retinol) is critical for many aspects of this process, including neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory formation. However, the metabolism of retinol in the neonatal brain has not been extensively explored.

Objective: We examined the uptake of VA into the brain in neonatal rats raised under VA-marginal conditions (control group) and assessed the effect of VA supplementation on the uptake of VA into the brain.

Methods: Sprague-Dawley neonatal rats (n = 104) nursed by mothers fed a VA-marginal diet were randomly assigned and treated on postnatal day 4 with an oral dose of either VA (6 μg retinyl palmitate/g body weight) or canola oil as the control, both of which contained 1.8 μCi [³H]retinol. Pups (n = 4/group at a time) were killed at 13 sampling times from 30 min to 24 d after dosing. The uptake of total retinol, chylomicron-associated retinyl esters (REs), and retinol bound to retinol-binding protein (RBP) was estimated with the use of WinSAAM version 3.0.8.

Results: Total retinol mass in the brain was closely dependent on its mass in plasma over time (r = 0.91; P < 0.001). The uptake of retinol into the brain involved both postprandial chylomicrons and RBP, with RBP delivering most of the retinol in the control group [0.27 nmol/d (RBP) compared with 0.01 nmol/d (chylomicrons)]. VA supplementation increased the fractional uptake of chylomicron REs from 0.3% to 1.2% of plasma pool/d, decreased that of RBP retinol from 0.5% to 0.2% of plasma pool/d, and increased the transfer rate of chylomicron REs from nearly zero to 0.7 nmol/d, causing a day-long elevation in the brain mass of total retinol.

Conclusion: Postprandial chylomicrons may be a primary mechanism for delivering a recently ingested large dose of VA to the brain of neonatal rats raised under VA-marginal conditions.

From: Hodges, J. K., Tan, L., Green, M. H., Ross, A. C. http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fjn.nutrition.org%2Fcgi%2Fcontent%2Fshort%2F146%2F9%2F1677%3Frss%3D1&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8