They have inserted genes into mice that allows them to make their own omega three.
The breasts of these mice make high levels of Omega 3.
Babies have a high need for Omega 3s.
Humans cannot make Omega 3 from scratch, but it would be reasonable to assume human breasts would make high levels of Omega 3s if they have the raw materials to do so. A possible consequences of a deficit of Omega 3 could be cellular misfunction.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...med_RVDocSum1: Lipids. 2006 Jan;41(1):35-9.Links
N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids endogenously synthesized in fat-1 mice are enriched in the mammary gland.
Ma DW, Ngo V, Huot PS, Kang JX.
Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
davidwl.ma@utoronto.ca
In this study, we determined the phospholipid FA composition in the mammary gland of the transgenic Fat-1 mouse. This is the first animal model developed that can endogenously synthesize n-3 PUFA. The synthesis of n-3 PUFA is achieved through the expression of the fat-1 transgene encoding for an n-3 desaturase from Caenorhabditis elegans, which utilizes n-6 PUFA as substrate. Wild-type and Fat-1 female mice were terminated at 7 wk of age and the fifth mammary gland was removed. Lipids were extracted and phospholipids were separated by TLC and converted to FAME for analysis by GC. There was no significant change in total saturated, monounsaturated, and PUFA composition.
However, there was a significant increase in total n-3 PUFA and a corresponding decrease in n-6 PUFA. The major n-3 PUFA that were enriched included 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3. The n-6 PUFA that were reduced included 20:4n-6, 22:4n-6, and 22:5n-6. Overall, these findings demonstrate that female Fat-i mice have elevated levels of n-3 PUFA in the mammary gland. Moreover, the n-3 desaturase products are the same n-3 PUFA found in fish oil, which have been shown to have chemoprotective properties against breast cancer. Therefore, this newly developed mouse model may be highly useful for investigating molecular and cellular mechanisms by which n-3 PUFA prevents and inhibits breast cancer growth.
PMID: 16555469 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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