February 13, 2004

Gene transfer allows mammals to produce heart-healthy fats

MGH researchers have found that tissues from mice that have been altered to have a gene usually found in the c. elegans roundworm contain omega-3 fatty acids, consumption of which protects against heart disease. Usually mammals cannot produce omega-3s from the more abundant omega-6 fatty acids, which do not have the same health benefits. The findings, published in the Feb. 5 issue of Nature, could lead to development of omega-3-rich meat, milk and eggs.

"Correction of the usually omega-3-deficient Western diet has become a key step toward reducing the risk of several modern diseases," says lead author Jing X. Kang, MD, PhD, of the MGH Department of Medicine. "The current approach to increasing omega-3s in animal food products is to feed livestock with fish meal or other marine products, which is time consuming, costly and limited by the availability of those feeds."

The researchers developed a strain of mice that have the roundworm gene fat-1, which codes for an enzyme that converts omega-6 acids to omega-3s. Tissues from the transgenic mice were found to be high in omega-3s, while the tissues from normal mice had fats primarily consisting of omega-6s, as do most mammals. The ability to transmit fat-1 into mammals without losing its effectiveness or causing any apparent harm to the animals raises the possibility of developing farm animals that naturally produce omega-3-rich food products.

Kang's co-authors are Jingdong Wang, MS, and Zhao Kang, MD, of the MGH Department of Medicine, and Lin Wu, PhD, of MGH Dermatology.