多不饱和脂肪酸调控基因表达的分子机制的研究进展

多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFA）,尤其是n-3系的PUFA,可以降低脂肪酸以甘油三酯形式的沉积,同时促进脂肪酸氧化和葡萄糖合成糖原。其具体机制是PUFA通过激活过氧化物酶体活化增生因子受体α（PPARα）来控制氧化途径过程中的基因表达,而其对脂肪合成途径中有关基因的抑制则是通过降低能传递胰岛素和碳水化合物信息的转录因子与DNA的亲和力和转录因子的核内丰度。尤其是PUFA抑制了类固醇空单元结合蛋白－1（SREBP－1）的核内丰度和表达,降低了核因子Y(NF-Y)、Sp1和肝核因子－4（MNF－4）与DNA的亲和力。     

Intestinal microsomes: polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism and regulation of enterocyte transport properties

Recent evidence has suggested that transport of nutrients from the lumen to the interior of the gastrointestinal epithelium and exit of nutrients from the enterocyte to the circulation is governed by physicochemical properties of brush border and basolateral membranes, respectively. The main determinants of membrane properties are phospholipid, cholesterol, and fatty acyl chain composition (chain length and degree of unsaturation). Lipid synthesis occurs in enterocyte microsomes and the fine tuning of lipid composition is done at other subcellular sites by deacylation-reacylation or by changing the polar head group (e.g., by phosphatidylethanolamine methyltransferase). The present paper will focus on the mechanisms by which enterocyte membranes adapt functional properties in response to external stimuli. It is proposed that under the influence of internal or external stress, the enzymes of lipid metabolism in microsomes are modulated. These changes in lipid synthesis are reflected in other subcellular membranes, changing their physicochemical status and thus transport phenomena. One of the initial events appears to be alteration in desaturase enzyme activity. Our results suggest that desaturase activity and the fatty acyl profiles of the intestinal mucosal phospholipid rapidly respond to physiological conditions such as fasting and dietary fat treatment.     

Metabolic engineering of plants for polyunsaturated fatty acid production

Very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFAs) have demonstrated health benefits. Currently, the main sources for these fatty acids are oils from fish and microbes. However, shrinking fish populations and the high cost of microbial oil extraction are making the economic sustainability of these sources questionable. Metabolic engineering of oilseed crops could provide a novel and sustainable source of VLCPUFAs. Recently, genes encoding desaturases and elongases from microbes have been identified and successfully expressed in oilseed plants. However, the levels of VLCPUFAs produced in transgenic plants expressing these genes are still much lower than those found in native microbes. This review assesses the recent progress and future perspectives in the metabolic engineering of PUFAs in plants.