Up-regulation of mitochondrial antioxidant superoxide dismutase underpins persistent cardiac nutritional-preconditioning by long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the rat

Reactive oxygen species paradoxically underpin both ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) damage and ischaemic preconditioning (IPC) cardioprotection. Long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCn-3 PUFA) are highly susceptible to peroxidation, but are paradoxically cardioprotective. This study tested the hypothesis that LCn-3 PUFA cardioprotection is underpinned by peroxidation, upregulating antioxidant activity to reduce I/R-induced lipid oxidation, and the mechanisms of this nutritional preconditioning contrast to mechanisms of IPC. Rats were fed: fish oil (LCn-3 PUFA); sunflower seed oil (n-6 PUFA); or beef tallow (saturated fat, SF) enriched diets for six weeks. Isolated hearts were subject to: 180 min normoxic perfusion; a 30 min coronary occlusion ischaemia protocol then 120 min normoxic reperfusion; or a 3×5 min global IPC protocol, 30 min ischaemia, then reperfusion. Dietary LCn-3 PUFA raised basal: membrane docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3 DHA); fatty acid peroxidisability index; concentrations of lipid oxidation products; and superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) activity (but not CuZnSOD or glutathione peroxidase). Infarct size correlated inversely with basal MnSOD activity (r² = 0.85) in the ischaemia protocol and positively with I/R-induced lipid oxidation (lipid hydroperoxides (LPO), r² = 0.475; malondialdehyde (MDA), r² = 0.583) across ischaemia and IPC protocols. While both dietary fish oil and IPC infarct-reduction were associated with reduced I/R-induced lipid oxidation, fish oil produced nutritional preconditioning by prior LCn-3 PUFA incorporation and increased peroxidisability leading to up-regulated mitochondrial SOD antioxidant activity.