[Effect of omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids on the cultured oligodendrocyte precursor cells].

Objective: To explore the effect of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LPFA) on the survival and process growth of the brain hippocampal Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPC).

Method: Two kinds of cultured neural progenitor cells isolated from adult rat hippocampus were used. After arachidonic acid (AA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) treatment respectively, the activity of cells were determined by Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay, and the quantitative measurements of the cell processes were done after the fluorescent immune cells staining.

Results: EPA, DHA and AA showed similar trends to increase the cell numbers when the concentrations were high (50 micromol/L, P<0.05), but only EPA and DHA elongated the process of OPC significantly (P<0.05).

Conclusion: omega-3 LPFA (EPA and DHA) could enhance the survival and process growth of OPC.