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(Journal of Nutrition. 2000;130:2274-2284.)
© 2000 The American Society for Nutritional Sciences


Article

Dietary Ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Alters the Fatty Acid Composition of Bone Compartments and Biomarkers of Bone Formation in Rats1 ,2

Bruce A. Watkins3, Yong Li, Kenneth G. D. Allen*, Walter E. Hoffmann{dagger} and Mark F. Seifert**

Department of Food Science, Lipid Chemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907; * Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523; {dagger} Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, College of Veterinary Medicine, Urbana, IL 61801; and ** Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN 46202

3To whom correspondence should be addressed.


    ABSTRACT
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
The effects of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on ex vivo bone prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production and bone formation rate were evaluated in rats. Weanling male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed AIN-93G diet containing 70 g/kg of added fat for 42 d. The dietary lipid treatments were formulated with safflower oil and menhaden oil to provide the following ratios of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids: 23.8 (SMI), 9.8 (SMII), 2.6 (SMIII), and 1.2 (SMIV). Ex vivo PGE2 production in liver homogenates and bone organ cultures (right femur and tibia) were significantly lower in rats fed diets with a lower dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids than in those fed diets with a higher dietary ratio. Regression analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between bone PGE2 and the ratio of arachidonic acid (AA)/eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), but significant negative correlations between bone formation rate and either the ratio of AA/EPA or PGE2 in bone. Activities of serum alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes, including the bone-specific isoenzyme (BALP), were greater in rats fed a diet high in (n-3) or a low ratio of (n-6)/(n-3), further supporting the positive action of (n-3) fatty acids on bone formation. These results demonstrated that the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) modulates bone PGE2 production and the activity of serum BALP in growing rats.


KEY WORDS: • polyunsaturated fatty acids • prostaglandin E2 • bone formation rate • alkaline phosphatase • rats


    INTRODUCTION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2),4 an eicosanoid derivative of arachidonic acid (AA), is the predominant bone cell–derived prostaglandin and is regarded as a potent regulating agent for bone modeling and remodeling (Marks and Miller 1993Citation ). Both bone formation and bone resorption are influenced by PGE2, and its effect on bone may be concentration dependent. Raisz and Koolemans-Beynen (1974)Citation showed that PGE2 inhibits bone matrix formation at high concentrations in bone organ culture; however, at lower doses, PGE2 can stimulate bone formation in vitro and in vivo (Chyun and Raisz 1984Citation , Jee et al. 1990Citation , Mori et al. 1990Citation , Raisz and Fall 1990Citation ).

Watkins et al. (1996)Citation reported that an increased production of bone PGE2 in tibia of chicks given a semipurified diet containing soybean oil, high in (n-6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), was associated with a lower rate of bone formation compared with that of chicks fed a low dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids. Furthermore, dietary (n-3) PUFA were reported to lower the concentration of AA in bone (Watkins et al. 1996Citation ) and cartilage (Xu et al. 1994Citation ), and depress ex vivo PGE2 production in bone organ culture. One explanation for this phenomenon in bone is that dietary sources of PUFA that elevate AA cause an overproduction of PGE2 in bone that leads to a reduced bone formation rate. We hypothesize that the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids modulates bone PGE2 production to influence other localized growth factors and protein biosynthesis in osteoblasts responsible for bone formation.

Dietary lipids are known to affect the fatty acid composition of membrane phospholipids to influence cell function. Investigators have shown that lowering the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids resulted in increased bone marrow cellularity (Atkinson et al. 1997Citation ) and bone strength (Kokkinos et al. 1993Citation ). Watkins et al. (1996)Citation reported that chicks fed a blend of menhaden oil plus safflower oil in a semipurified diet had a lower concentration of AA, but higher concentrations of 20:5(n-3) and 22:6(n-3) in cortical bone polar lipids compared with those fed soybean oil. Moreover, reports by Alam et al. (1993)Citation in rat alveolar bone and Xu et al. (1994)Citation in chicken cartilage corroborate our findings that dietary PUFA alter the fatty acid composition and PGE2 production in these tissues.

Dietary (n-3) fatty acids offer benefits by reducing the incidence and severity of inflammatory disorders, cardiovascular diseases and some cancers in humans (Rose 1997Citation , Suchner and Senftleben 1994Citation ). Populations consuming fish, rich in (n-3) fatty acids, have a low incidence of atherosclerotic disorders (Goto et al. 1993Citation ). Dietary fish oil, which is high in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), also was shown to reduce myocardial ischemic damage (Hock et al. 1997) and ventricular fibrillation (Billman et al. 1997Citation ). The antitumorigenic effect of (n-3) fatty acids was demonstrated in breast cancer (Braden and Carroll 1986Citation ), colon cancer (Minoura et al. 1988Citation , Reddy and Maruyama 1986Citation , Reddy and Sugie 1988Citation ), and pancreatic neoplasm (O’Connor et al. 1989Citation ). The action of (n-3) fatty acids is mediated in part by decreasing the production of PGE2 and perhaps by down-regulating cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activity (Hamilton et al. 1999Citation ) in local tissues. Because the prostanoid PGE2 plays an important role in bone metabolism, we speculate that by modulating the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids, bone growth could be optimized during bone modeling.

To our knowledge, there is no investigation evaluating how the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids affects tissue PGE2 production and bone formation in growing animals. The aim of this study was threefold: 1) to investigate how the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids influences the fatty acid composition of bone compartments; 2) to determine correlations between bone fatty acid composition and ex vivo bone PGE2 production; and 3) to identify, using regression analysis, the relationship between bone PGE2 concentration and the rate of bone formation.


    MATERIALS AND METHODS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Animals and diets.

Male weanling rats (n = 60; 21-d-old, mean body weight 45.4 ± 3.3 g, Harlan Sprague Dawley, Indianapolis, IN) were housed in individual cages at a controlled temperature of 21–23°C with a 12-h light:dark cycle. Animal care was in compliance with applicable guidelines from the Purdue University policy on animal care and use. The rats were assigned randomly to four groups and consumed ad libitum the basal diet (AIN-93G without fat, Dyets, Bethlehem, PA) with one of the fat treatments (Table 1Citation ). The dietary treatments were prepared by mixing safflower oil and menhaden oil at different proportions (SMI, 90:10; SMII, 80:20; SMIII, 50:50; and SMIV, 30:70; wt/wt). The dietary lipid treatments were formulated to provide linoleic acid 18:2(n-6) at 24–67 g/100 g fatty acids and contain increasing amounts of 20:5(n-3) EPA and 22:6(n-3) DHA. Total fat concentration in each diet was 70 g/kg. All dietary lipids were stored at -80°C before use. Fresh diets were mixed every 14 d and all diets were kept at -20°C until fed. Food cups were refilled three times each week. Food consumption was measured at the time when the food cup was refilled. Body weights were recorded weekly and feed efficiencies (total g weight gain/total g food consumed) calculated for each treatment group.


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Table 1. Fatty acid and ingredient composition of the diets given to rats123

 
Sample collections.

After 42 d of dietary treatment, the rats were killed and tissue samples (blood, liver and right femur) collected for lipid analysis. Blood was collected from axillary vessels. Serum was separated by centrifuging the clotted blood at 1200 x g for 20 min and storing the blood at -80°C until analyzed. For dynamic assessment of bone formation rate, rats were given double intraperitoneal injections of calcein green (10 mg/kg body weight, Sigma Chemical, St. Louis, MO) 6 and 2 d before killing (Li et al. 1999Citation , Watkins et al. 1996Citation ). All samples were kept on ice at the time of collection and then frozen at -80°C. Bones were removed and carefully freed of soft tissue. Right proximal tibiae, collected for bone histology, were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, dehydrated in ethanol and embedded undecalcified in methylmethacrylate (Seifert 1994Citation , Watkins et al. 1996Citation ).

Analytical procedures.

Lipids in the diet and tissue samples were extracted with chloroform/methanol (2:1, v/v). Cortical bone samples were cooled in liquid nitrogen, pulverized and sonicated for extraction of lipids (Watkins et al. 1996Citation ). Total lipids extracted were further separated into polar and neutral lipid fractions by solid phase extraction (Juaneda and Rocquelin 1985Citation ) using silica (600-mg) cartridges (Alltech Maxi-clean, Alltech, Deerfield, IL).

Lipids from the diet and rat tissues were saponified, and fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) prepared by esterification using boron trifluoride (BF3) in methanol (14%, wt/wt, Supelco Bellefonte, PA). FAME were analyzed using a gas chromatograph (GC HP 5890 series II, autosampler 7673, HP 3365 ChemStation; Hewlett-Packard, Avondale, PA) equipped with a DB 23 column (30 m, 0.53 mm i.d., 0.5 µm film thickness; J&W Scientific, Folsom, CA). The GC was operated at 140°C for 2 min, temperature programmed 1.5°C/min to 198°C and held for 7 min. The injector and flame-ionization detector temperatures were 225 and 250°C, respectively. FAME were identified by comparison of retention times with authentic standards (GLC-422, GLC-87, GLC-68A, Nu-Chek-Prep, Elysian, MN) and FAME prepared from menhaden oil (Matreya, Pleasant Gap, PA).

Bone histomorphometric analyses were performed on frontal sections of proximal tibial metaphyses cut using a Reichert-Jung 2050 microtome (Nussloch, Germany). Kinetic measurements were performed on unstained sections (10 µm thick) viewed using fluorescence microscopy (Seifert 1994Citation , Watkins et al. 1996Citation ). Trabecular tissues were measured in a standard area (2.4 mm2) located just below the growth plate zone of mineralized cartilage, composed of secondary spongiosae. This area excluded trabeculae connected to the osseous cortex. Two sections per rat were analyzed at an objective magnification of X20, and kinetic parameters (double labels located along endocortical surfaces) were measured in the same area. Sections were analyzed using a semiautomatic image analysis system (Osteomeasure Histomorphometry System, Osteometrics, Atlanta, GA) (Seifert 1994Citation ). Kinetic parameters were measured from unstained sections for bone formation rate (BFR)/bone surface (µm/d). This measurement is an indicator of bone formation, and the formula used for the calculation is based on the recommendations of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Nomenclature Committee (Parfitt et al. 1987Citation ).

Ex vivo PGE2 production in liver homogenates and bone organ cultures was determined by RIA as previously described (Li et al. 1999Citation , Watkins et al. 1996Citation and 1997Citation ). Briefly, 1 g of liver was homogenized in 10 mL of 50 mmol/L potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4, 4°C), and the homogenates were incubated in a shaking incubator for 10 min at 37°C. Incubation was terminated with 0.5 volumes of acetylsalicylic acid (42 mmol/L). Liver homogenates were stored at -80°C until analyzed for PGE2. Shafts from the left tibia and femur bones were removed and carefully flushed with 9 g/L NaCl to remove marrow cells. A section of bone shaft was immersed in 20 mL of Hank’s balanced salt solution (Sigma Chemical) and incubated with shaking for 2 h at 37°C. After incubation, the bone culture medium was collected and stored at -80°C until analyzed. Values for PGE2 were expressed per unit of cytosolic protein for liver homogenate and per unit of bone wet or dry weight.

The activity of serum alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes (total, intestinal, liver and bone-specific) was measured as previously described (Hoffmann et al. 1994Citation , Solter et al. 1997Citation ). Serum intact osteocalcin was measured by an immunoradiometric assay using a commercial kit (Immutopics, San Clemente, CA).

Statistical analysis.

Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA; when significant differences were found, a Student-Newman-Keuls or Duncan’s Multiple Range Test was performed at a probability of P = 0.05. Correlations between selected measurements were tested by Pearson’s correlation analysis (SAS software package for UNIX, SAS Institute Cary, NC). A t test was also used to examine the differences in bone formation rates. Variations between treatment groups were expressed as the pooled standard error of the mean (SEM) or mean ± SEM where applicable.


    RESULTS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Analyzed fatty acid values for the formulated dietary treatments ranged from 1.2 to 23.8 for the ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids (Table 1)Citation . The SMIV diet had the lowest value for the ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids and contained 12.6 g EPA and 4.6 g DHA/100 g total fatty acids. The amount of 18:2(n-6) linoleic acid and 18:3(n-3) {alpha}-linolenic acid ranged from 24 to 68 g and 0.1 to 0.5 g/100 g of the total fatty acids, respectively.

Rat growth was not affected by the dietary lipid treatments (final body weight: SMI, 305.7 ± 4.2 g; SMII, 301.7 ± 5.0 g; SMIII, 308.3 ± 4.6 g; and SMIV, 306.7 ± 4.1 g). Feed efficiency also was not influenced by the dietary treatments (SMI, 0.41 ± 0.004; SMII, 0.40 ± 0.003; SMIII, 0.42 ± 0.009; and SMIV, 0.42 ± 0.004 g body weight gained/g food consumed).

The concentration of total (n-6) fatty acids, AA and 18:2(n-6) declined according to the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids in polar lipids of periosteum (Table 2Citation ), marrow (Table 3Citation ) and cortical bone (Table 4Citation ) in rats. The reduction in the total amount of (n-6) fatty acids was 30–50%, 29–50% for AA and 12–15% for 18:2(n-6) in rats fed a dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids of 1.2 (SMIV) compared with those fed an (n-6)/(n-3) ratio of 23.8 (SMI). Moreover, as the dietary level of (n-3) fatty acids rose from 2.85 to 21.15%, the concentration of total (n-3) fatty acids was elevated by 66–200%, and EPA by 800-1940% in rat periosteum, marrow and cortical bone polar lipids. The concentration of DHA in periosteum was elevated but remained unchanged in marrow and cortical bone of rats fed the SMIII and SMIV diets containing higher levels of (n-3) fatty acids (Table 2)Citation . As the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids approached the lowest value (1.2), the concentration of total monounsaturates rose and total saturates remained unchanged in polar lipids of all femur bone compartments in the rat. The ratio of AA/EPA in polar lipids ranged from 2.3 to 39.3 in periosteum (Table 2)Citation , 3.0 to 62.5 in marrow (Table 3)Citation and 3.8 to 27.4 in cortical bone (Table 4)Citation of rats fed the different dietary treatments.


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Table 2. Fatty acid composition of femur periosteum polar lipids from rats fed different proportions of safflower and menhaden oils1

 

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Table 3. Fatty acid composition of femur marrow polar lipids from rats fed different proportions of safflower and menhaden oils1

 

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Table 4. Fatty acid composition of femur cortical bone polar lipids from rats fed different proportions of safflower and menhaden oils1

 
The fatty acid composition of neutral lipids in rat femur bone compartments followed those changes observed in the polar lipids. As the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids declined so did the concentrations of total (n-6) fatty acids, AA and 18:2(n-6) (30–50%) in neutral lipids of periosteum (Table 5Citation ), marrow (Table 6Citation ) and cortical bone (Table 7Citation ). The neutral lipids of all bone compartments of rats fed the highest level of dietary (n-3) fatty acids contained from 2.9- to 5.6-fold greater concentrations of total (n-3), 9- to 14.5-fold for EPA and 1.8 to 4-fold for DHA compared with those fed the lowest level of (n-3). In rats fed the SMIV diet [highest level of (n-3) fatty acids], the total concentration of saturates and monounsaturates was elevated in neutral lipids of periosteum and marrow compared with rats fed the SMI diet. In all bone compartments, the total concentration of PUFA in neutral lipids was lower in rats fed the SMIV diet.


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Table 5. Fatty acid composition of femur periosteum neutral lipids from rats fed different proportions of safflower and menhaden oils1

 

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Table 6. Fatty acid composition of femur marrow neutral lipids from rats fed different proportions of safflower and menhaden oils1

 

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Table 7. Fatty acid composition of femur cortical bone neutral lipids from rats fed different proportions of safflower and menhaden oils1

 
The ratios of AA/EPA, AA/DHA and (LA + AA)/(EPA + DHA) in both polar and neutral lipids of bone compartments were significantly lower in rats fed the lowest dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids (diet SMIV) compared with those fed the highest ratio in diet SMI. All bone compartments were enriched with EPA, and the extent of incorporation was greater than that observed with DHA. The greater concentration of EPA in bone relative to that for DHA is consistent with the proportions of dietary EPA to DHA of 2.35–2.7 to 1 (Table 1)Citation .

The concentration of AA in g/100 g found in polar lipids of periosteum (7.6–14.5), marrow (11.9–20.4) and cortical bone (9.2–13.4) was greater than that in the neutral lipids of those respective bone compartments (0.9–1.9, 2.0–3.2, 2.0–5.3). In addition, these data showed that as the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids approached 1.2, the increase in concentration of EPA in polar lipids was greater than the drop in concentration of AA in rat bone compartments. For example, the concentration of AA in polar lipids was reduced by only 29 to 48%, whereas that for EPA rose from 9- to 24-fold in rats fed a lower dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids.

Measurement of ex vivo PGE2 production in bone and serum biomarkers of bone formation showed that as the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids declined from 23.9, more favorable conditions resulted, which tended to reflect improved bone modeling in growing rats (Table 8Citation ). The amount of ex vivo PGE2 produced in liver homogenates and bone organ cultures across the treatment groups closely followed the changes in concentrations of AA and EPA in bone tissue polar lipids. Ex vivo PGE2 production in femur and tibia was 43–55% lower in rats fed a higher amount of (n-3) fatty acids in the SMIV diet compared with the values in rats fed the SMI diet. These results were consistent with liver homogenate prostanoid production from rats fed the experimental diets (Table 8)Citation . The activities of serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) isoenzymes were significantly higher in rats fed the higher levels of dietary (n-3) fatty acids compared with those fed the highest level of (n-6) in the SMI diet (Table 8)Citation . The activities for total ALP (TALP), intestinal ALP (IALP), liver ALP (LALP), and bone ALP (BALP), rose progressively with the decline in the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids. In this study, serum intact osteocalcin was not affected by the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids after 6 wk of dietary treatment (Table 8)Citation . However, there was a higher BFR in tibia of rats fed the greatest level of (n-3) fatty acids in the SMIV diet compared with the rate in rats fed the SMI diet [highest in (n-6) fatty acids] (Table 8)Citation .


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Table 8. Ex vivo prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production in liver homogenate and bone organ culture, serum osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme values from rats fed different proportions of safflower and menhaden oils1

 
Changes in bone prostanoid precursor, concentration of AA in bone polar lipids, were consistent with the changes in values for ex vivo PGE2 production in bone organ culture. Regression analysis performed to determine the association between selected bone fatty acids (ratio of AA/EPA) and values for bone PGE2 revealed a significant positive correlation with the ratio of AA/EPA (Fig. 1Citation , panel A). Furthermore, a significant negative correlation was observed between BFR and the ratio of AA/EPA (Fig. 1Citation , panel B) and with PGE2 (Fig. 1Citation , panel C). The regression analyses suggest that bone concentrations of (n-6) and (n-3) fatty acids are related to changes in ex vivo PGE2 production and may be associated with an altered rate of bone formation.



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Figure 1. Relationship between bone prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) concentration and the rate of bone formation in rats fed different proportions of safflower and menhaden oils. Panel A: correlation between ex vivo PGE2 production and arachidonic acid/eicosapentaenoic acid (AA/EPA) ratio in rat femur cortical bone polar lipids. The mathematical relation between ex vivo PGE2 production (y) and AA/EPA ratio (x) can be expressed as y = 0.439x + 17.389 with R2 = 0.51 and P = 0.003 for the correlation test. Panel B: correlation between bone formation rate/bone surface (BFR/BS) and the ratio of AA/EPA in rat cortical bone polar lipids. The mathematical relation between BFR (y) and AA/EPA ratio (x) can be expressed as y = -0.0396x + 4.705 with R2 = 0.34 and P = 0.01 for the correlation test. Panel C: correlation between BFR and ex vivo PGE2 production in rat tibia. The mathematical relation between BFR (y) and ex vivo PGE2 production (x) can be expressed as y = -0.0194x + 4.819 with R2 = 0.22 and P = 0.05 for the correlation test.

 

    DISCUSSION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Growth and feed efficiency of male rats were not affected by diets varying from 1.2 to 23.8 in the ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids. As the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids declined, resulting in a higher level of EPA, the concentration of EPA rose, whereas that of AA dropped in neutral and polar lipids of femur bone compartments. The higher concentration of (n-3) PUFA found in bone compartments was associated with reduced ex vivo PGE2 production in bone and a higher serum level of bone ALP. The changes observed in local factors that influence bone formation (PGE2 and bone specific alkaline phosphatase) with the lower dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids reflect more favorable conditions to support bone modeling. Moreover, as the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids approached 1.2, the BFR was higher and was significantly greater in rats fed the SMIV diet compared with those fed the SMI diet.

The lack of dietary treatment effect on serum osteocalcin in rats at 9 wk of age might be related to the time at which sampling was performed. Modrowski et al. (1992)Citation found that the maximum levels of this biomarker of bone formation are achieved at 3 wk and drop precipitously through 11 wk of age. Moreover, it has been reported that an osteocalcin surge precedes the period of rapid skeletal growth in rats (Modrowski et al. 1992Citation ). Values for serum osteocalcin in the present study are consistent with those reported for rats of a similar age. Therefore, on the basis of the current data, it is possible to observe a difference in rate of bone formation without a change in serum osteocalcin in growing rats.

The value for bone-specific ALP might be the best biomarker for bone formation in this study. Its activity, as well as that of other isoenzymes of alkaline phosphatase seems to be "coupled" to tissue PGE2 concentration. Liver homogenate and bone PGE2 levels declined in rats from the SMI to SMIV groups, but activity of total ALP and its isoenzymes rose in these tissues. This phenomenon seems to corroborate our previous findings in growing chicks (Watkins et al. 1996Citation ) in that those fed (n-3) PUFA had higher circulating levels of ALP. The apparent inhibitory effect of PGE2 on the activity of ALP is consistent with the findings of Fujimori et al. (1989)Citation and Igarashi et al. (1994)Citation who reported that acetylsalicylic acid added to cultured MC3T3-E1 cells resulted in depressed endogenous PGE2 levels but elevated ALP activity.

This investigation evaluated the effects of varying the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids on bone tissues. The fatty acid composition of neutral and polar lipids in periosteum, marrow and cortical bone reflected the dietary levels of (n-6) and (n-3) fatty acids fed to rats. As the dietary levels of EPA and DHA rose, the concentration of AA declined in all lipids of the bone compartments studied. The concentrations of EPA in cortical bone, periosteum and marrow were negatively correlated (r = -0.82 to -0.86, P < 0.0001) and concentrations of AA positively correlated (r = 0.64–0.95, P < 0.002) with the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids.

The dietary ratio of EPA to DHA was ~3.0 for the different lipid treatments of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids. Hence, the absolute amount of EPA was greater than that of DHA in the diets, and the treatments resulted in significantly higher concentrations of EPA relative to DHA in polar lipids of bone compartments. In contrast, the neutral lipids contained nearly the same concentration of both fatty acids. Alam et al. (1993)Citation reported similar concentrations (4.2–4.7%) of both EPA and DHA in total phospholipids of mandibles and maxillae of rats fed ethyl esters of EPA and DHA provided in a dietary ratio of 1.35. These studies indicate that the proportion of EPA and DHA influences the polar lipid composition of long-chain (n-3) fatty acids but less so for neutral lipid in bone. Furthermore, as dietary 18:2(n-6) was replaced with EPA and DHA, the concentration of AA declined significantly in cortical bone, periosteum and marrow.

The correlations between the bone ratio of AA/EPA and ex vivo PGE2 production in bone and BFR revealed important associations. Although variables indicating high correlations do not demonstrate a cause-effect connection, a high correlation suggests that a relationship does exist. We clearly showed that dietary PUFA, specifically the ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids, are a factor in determining bone tissue content of AA and EPA, and this in turn determines capacity to synthesize PGE2. It is possible that other eicosanoids are affected, and modulation of biosynthesis can exert a positive or negative influence on (patho-) physiologic events in bone.

PGE is involved in bone metabolism under both normal (Marks and Miller 1993Citation ) and disease conditions (Kremer 1996Citation ). In an in vitro human bone study, Plotquin et al. (1991)Citation showed that PGE production was 5–30 times higher in osteomyelitic bone compared with normal controls. Moreover, PGE2 production is involved in the inflammatory condition and in the bone resorption that occurs in osteomyelitis.

Production of PGE2 by COX-2, an inducible enzyme, is stimulated by cytokines in adult human osteoblast-like cells (Xu et al. 1997Citation ). In human osteoblast cell cultures, parathyroid hormone induced COX-2 expression and PGE2 production (Maciel et al. 1997Citation ); in rats, COX-2 induction is important for lamellar bone formation elicited by mechanical strain (Forwood 1996Citation ). Overexpression of COX-2 is associated with inflammatory response in arthritis and in the development of osteoporosis and cancer (Subbaramaiah et al. 1997Citation ). Each year, $70 billion is spent to treat patients suffering from osteoporosis, and arthritis afflicts 40 million people in the U.S. (Lawrence et al. 1998Citation ).

Inflammatory cytokines (e.g., interleukin-1) are known to inhibit chondrocyte proliferation (Arend and Dayer 1990Citation ) and induce cartilage degradation; part of that response is mediated by PGE2 (Fukuda et al. 1994Citation ). Excess production of PGE2 is linked to joint pathology (rheumatoid arthritis), is known to exacerbate inflammatory responses and results in a net loss of proteoglycan from articular cartilage (Fukuda et al. 1994Citation ). Because PGE2 activation of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I/IGF binding protein axis may play an important role in cartilage biology, (e.g., collagen and proteoglycan synthesis) (Di Battista et al. 1997Citation ), dietary fatty acids may also be important for supporting joint repair. Our investigation with rats demonstrates that the dietary ratio of (n-6)/(n-3) fatty acids alters AA concentrations in bone compartments and modulates PGE2 production and other local factors affecting bone modeling.

Prostaglandin E3 (PGE3), an eicosanoid derivative of EPA, could have increased in rats fed the high (n-3) diet because the proportion of dietary EPA to DHA was 2.35–2.7 to 1, and this was reflected in the concentration of bone EPA relative to DHA. PGE3 is as potent as PGE2 in mediating bone resorption; however, EPA is a less effective substrate for cyclooxygenase than AA (Raisz et al. 1989Citation ). Hence, supplementation with oils providing appreciable amounts of EPA typically reduces the 2-series PG derived from AA, accompanied by a small increase in 3-series PG derived from EPA (Knapp et al. 1986Citation ). Because PGE3 is less inflammatory than PGE2 (Kremer 1996Citation ), a possible mechanism for the effect of a high (n-3) fatty acid intake on bone formation (or alternatively, changes in bone resorption) could be attributed to reductions in bone resorbing PGE2 accompanied by small increases in PGE3. In addition, the response could also be due to reduced AA concentration in phospholipids attributable to increased EPA.

Croft et al. (1988)Citation reported an antagonistic effect of EPA on AA in leukocytes from rats fed an EPA-rich fish oil diet. In the study on leukocytes, EPA caused a decrease in leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and thromboxane B2 (TxB2) production but an increase in leukotriene B5 (LTB5), a lipoxygenase product of EPA. The bioactivity of LTB5 is less than that of LTB4 (Miller et al. 1993Citation ). For the present study, the reduction in ex vivo PGE2 production in rat bone is most likely not related to tissue DHA levels as evidenced by the fact that the relative amount of DHA in polar lipids was less than that for EPA. EPA and DHA may have distinct functions in regulation of eicosanoid production for bone metabolism. It has been shown that EPA but not DHA altered platelet prostaglandin biosynthesis in rats (Bruckner et al. 1984Citation ), which further supports a more important role for EPA in the regulation of PGE2 biosynthesis.

Anti-inflammatory diets, including nutraceutical (n-3) fatty acids, attenuate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (secondary osteoporosis), certain inflammatory diseases (Geusens et al. 1994Citation , Kremer 1996Citation , Shapiro et al. 1996Citation ) and cancer risk (Rose 1997Citation ). These beneficial effects of (n-3) fatty acids were demonstrated in a mouse model for arthritis (Leslie et al. 1985Citation ). For example, a longer time period was observed before induction of the disease in mice fed a fish oil diet compared with those fed corn oil, which is high in 18:2(n-6). In addition, these mice showed a decreased incidence and severity of their arthritis (Leslie et al. 1985Citation ). A common link between osteoarthritis (bone loss) and rheumatoid arthritis, and conditions for optimizing bone formation resides in the regulation/expression of COX-2. In this study, our findings support a positive role for (n-3) fatty acids in bone modeling in growing rats and provide a therapeutic context for the use of dietary (n-3) fatty acids in modulating eicosanoid production to control bone disease. Research on nutraceutical fatty acids is now directed toward investigations to evaluate effects on the activity and expression of COX-2 in MC3T3-E1 cells and rats.


    FOOTNOTES
 
1 This is Journal Paper no. 16142 of the Purdue Agricultural Experiment Station. Back

2 Supported by grant no. 96–35200-3137 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture N.R.I. Back

4 Abbreviations used: AA, arachidonic acid; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; BF3, boron trifluoride; BFR, bone formation rate; COX-2, cyclooxygenase-2; DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; FAME, fatty acid methyl esters; GC, gas chromatograph; IGF, insulin-like growth factor; LTB4, leukotriene B4; LTB5, leukotriene B5; PGE2, prostaglandin E2; PGE3, prostaglandin E3; PUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acids; SMI, II, III, IV, sunflower oil/menhaden oil diets; TxB2, thromboxane B2. Back

Manuscript received November 18, 1999. Initial review completed January 11, 2000. Revision accepted April 6, 2000.


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