Liu, QiangWu, DiNi, NaRen, HuixiaLuo, ChuanmingHe, ChengweiKang, Jing-XuanWan, Jian-BoSu, Huanxing2014-07-072014Liu, Qiang, Di Wu, Na Ni, Huixia Ren, Chuanming Luo, Chengwei He, Jing-Xuan Kang, Jian-Bo Wan, and Huanxing Su. 2014. “Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Protect Neural Progenitor Cells against Oxidative Injury.” Marine Drugs 12 (5): 2341-2356. doi:10.3390/md12052341. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/md12052341.1660-3397http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:12406676The omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), derived mainly from fish oil, play important roles in brain development and neuroplasticity. Here, we reported that application of ω-3 PUFAs significantly protected mouse neural progenitor cells (NPCs) against H2O2-induced oxidative injury. We also isolated NPCs from transgenic mice expressing the Caenorhabditis elegans fat-1 gene. The fat-1 gene, which is absent in mammals, can add a double bond into an unsaturated fatty acid hydrocarbon chain and convert ω-6 to ω-3 fatty acids. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining showed that a marked decrease in apoptotic cells was found in fat-1 NPCs after oxidative injury with H2O2 as compared with wild-type NPCs. Quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analysis demonstrated a much higher expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a master transcriptional factor for antioxidant genes, in fat-1 NPCs. The results of the study provide evidence that ω-3 PUFAs resist oxidative injury to NPCs.en-USoxidative stressDHAfat-1neural progenitor cellsJournal Article2014-07-0710.3390/md12052341