Author(s)

Letícia V. Siqueira, Eduardo P. Rico, Mário C. Bulla, Luciano Bellini, Luiz C. L. Silveira, Lúcia Vinadé, Diogo O. Souza, Júlia D. Moreira

Biochemistry Department, Basic Sciences of Health Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Department of Nutrition, Health Sciences Centre, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Campus Universitário Trindade, Florianópolis, Brazil.
Master Graduation Program in Biological Sciences, Campus S?o Gabriel, Federal University of Pampa—UNIPAMPA, S?o Gabriel, Brazil.
Phy- siology Department, Biological Science Center, Federal University of Pará, Belém, Brazil.

Glutamate excitotoxicity has been postulated as a putative mechanism involved in the physiopathology of glaucoma, a disease that can cause retinal cell damage. Thus, the modulation of glutamatergic parameters is a putative therapeutic target to prevent excitotoxic retinal injury. Here, we investigated the effect of dietary omega-3 fatty acids (w3) in the retinal glutamate transport system in basal and ischemic conditions. Female Wistar rats were divided into two groups: w3 diet (w3 group) and w3 deficient-diet (D group). Their pups, at 60 days old, were used for the experiments. Retinal ischemia, a mechanism involved in the physiopathology of glaucoma, was induced by high intraocular pressure (HIOP, 140 180 mmHg for 45 min) to impair retinal blood flow. Analyses were performed 7 days after ischemia. The D group showed a decreased glutamate uptake in basal conditions and after HIOP when compared to the w3 group. After HIOP, there was a decrease in glutamate uptake in the D group that was not observed in the w3 group (p < 0.005). Concerning glutamate transporters, the w3 group presented higher levels of GLT-1 compared to the D group in basal and ischemic conditions. After HIOP, EAAC1 was increased in both groups, while GLT-1 increased only in the D group, compared to basal levels. GLAST and EAAT5 presented no alterations. The modulation of the glutamatergic system by dietary w3 fatty acids points to a potential mechanism by which w3 PUFAs exert beneficial effects in the retina.

N-3 PUFAs; Retina; Ischemia; HIOP; Glaucoma; Glutamate Transporters

L. Siqueira, E. Rico, M. Bulla, L. Bellini, L. Silveira, L. Vinadé, D. Souza and J. Moreira, "Dietary Omega-3 Fatty Acids Deficiency Affects the Glutamatergic Transport System in Rat Retina: Modulatory Effects after High Intraocular Pressure," Food and Nutrition Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 9A, 2013, pp. 195-201. doi: 10.4236/fns.2013.49A1027.