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Animal Models

Fish oil supplementation alleviates metabolic and anxiodepressive effects of diet-induced obesity and associated changes in brain lipid composition in mice

International Journal of Obesity volume 44, pages 1936–1945 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective

Obesity significantly elevates the odds of developing mood disorders. Chronic consumption of a saturated high-fat diet (HFD) elicits anxiodepressive behavior in a manner linked to metabolic dysfunction and neuroinflammation in mice. Dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) can improve both metabolic and mood impairments by relieving inflammation. Despite these findings, the effects of n-3 PUFA supplementation on energy homeostasis, anxiodepressive behavior, brain lipid composition, and gliosis in the diet-induced obese state are unclear.

Methods

Male C57Bl/6J mice were fed a saturated high-fat diet (HFD) or chow for 20 weeks. During the last 5 weeks mice received daily gavage (“supplementation”) of fish oil (FO) enriched with equal amounts of docosahexaenoic (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or control corn oil. Food intake and body weight were measured throughout while additional metabolic parameters and anxiety- and despair-like behavior (elevated-plus maze, light–dark box, and forced swim tasks) were evaluated during the final week of supplementation. Forebrain lipid composition and markers of microglia activation and astrogliosis were assessed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and real-time PCR, respectively.

Results

Five weeks of FO supplementation corrected glucose intolerance and attenuated hyperphagia in HFD-induced obese mice without affecting adipose mass. FO supplementation also defended against the anxiogenic and depressive-like effects of HFD. Brain lipids, particularly anti-inflammatory PUFA, were diminished by HFD, whereas FO restored levels beyond control values. Gene expression markers of brain reactive gliosis were supressed by FO.

Conclusions

Supplementing a saturated HFD with FO rich in EPA and DHA corrects glucose intolerance, inhibits food intake, suppresses anxiodepressive behaviors, enhances anti-inflammatory brain lipids, and dampens indices of brain gliosis in obese mice. Together, these findings support increasing dietary n-3 PUFA for the treatment of metabolic and mood disturbances associated with excess fat intake and obesity.

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Fig. 1: Fish oil supplementation protects against diet-induced glucose intolerance and attenuates hyperphagia without affecting body composition.
Fig. 2: Fish oil supplementation alleviates anxiety- and despair-like behavior triggered by a saturated high-fat diet and obesity.
Fig. 3: Forebrain lipid composition changes associated with saturated high-fat feeding and fish oil supplementation.
Fig. 4: Fish oil supplementation suppresses forebrain markers of gliosis.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to SF, Merck Sharp Dohme Corp to SF, TA, and CDR and Réseau cardiométabolique, diabète & obésité from Fonds de Recherche Québec-Santé (CMDO-FRQS) to TA and CDR. GD was supported by a FRQS graduate fellowship, JR by a FRQS postdoctoral fellowship, GF by an INRA fund for mobility/sabbatical stay, and SF and TA are supported by FRQS senior salary awards.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre de Recherche du CHUM and Montreal Diabetes Research Center, Montreal, QC, H2X 0A9, Canada

    Geneviève Demers, Jerome Roy, Arturo Israel Machuca-Parra, Zahra Dashtehei pour, Diane Bairamian, Thierry Alquier & Stephanie Fulton

  2. Departments of Nutrition, Université de Montréal, MontrealQC, QC, H2X 0A9, Canada

    Geneviève Demers, Zahra Dashtehei pour, Diane Bairamian, Christine Des Rosiers & Stephanie Fulton

  3. Departments of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Arturo Israel Machuca-Parra & Thierry Alquier

  4. Montreal Heart Institute, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Caroline Daneault & Christine Des Rosiers

  5. Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology Unit, UMR1296 INRA - Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

    Guillaume Ferreira

  6. Food4BrainHealth France-Canada International Research Network, Bordeaux, France

    Guillaume Ferreira, Thierry Alquier & Stephanie Fulton

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  1. Geneviève Demers
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Demers, G., Roy, J., Machuca-Parra, A.I. et al. Fish oil supplementation alleviates metabolic and anxiodepressive effects of diet-induced obesity and associated changes in brain lipid composition in mice. Int J Obes 44, 1936–1945 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-020-0623-6

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