Discovery Challenges Belief about Brain's Cellular Makeup

A discovery made by Junhwan Kim, PhD, assistant professor at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, is challenging science's longstanding beliefs regarding the cellular makeup of the brain.

Brain cells. Image credit: NIA/NIH

It has long been a belief in the scientific field that the building blocks of brain cells, phospholipids, are enriched by polyunsaturated fatty acids. When trying to prove that the brain, like other major organs, are made of polyunsaturated fatty acids, Dr. Kim and his team were surprised by the results.

"We found the opposite of what science has widely believed -- phospholipids containing polyunsaturated fatty acids in the brain are lower than other major organs," said Dr. Kim. "Knowing that there are lower amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the brain, we may need to rethink how this acid impacts brain health and conditions like oxygen deprivation."

Dr. Kim and his team analyzed brain, heart, liver and kidney tissue from animals and found that only 60 percent of the brain's phospholipids were made up of polyunsaturated fatty acids. That's compared to other organs, where the polyunsaturated fatty acid content is about 90 percent.

It has also been previously presumed that high polyunsaturated fatty acids levels in the brain were what made it susceptible to oxygen deprivation or brain injury.

Further research is required to find out the reasoning for the difference in acid levels, but it could also challenge beliefs about polyunsaturated fatty acids' impact on these conditions. (Tasnim News Agency)

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