Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) brain cells biosynthesize novel docosahexaenoic acid-derived resolvins and protectins-Mediator lipidomic analysis.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; C22:6 n-3) is an abundant fatty acid in fish phospholipids. In the present study, we employed liquid chromatography-ultraviolet spectrometry-tandem mass spectrometry and dissociated rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) brain cells to determine whether fish utilize endogenous DHA to produce the recently uncovered novel lipid mediators termed the resolvins and protectins, generated by mammalian cells [Serhan CN, Hong S, Gronert K, et al. Resolvins: a family of bioactive products of omega-3 fatty acid transformation circuits initiated by aspirin treatment that counter proinflammation signals. J Exp Med 2002; 196:1025-37; Hong S, Gronert K, Devchand P, Moussignac R-L, Serhan, CN. Novel docosatrienes and 17S-resolvins generated from docosahexaenoic acid in murine brain, human blood, and glial cells. J Biol Chem 2003;278:14677-87]. Trout brain cells biosynthesize a range of recently identified di- and tri-hydroxy-containing bioactive products from endogenous sources of DHA when challenged in vitro. We identified neuroprotectin D1, resolvin D5, resolvin D1 and resolvin D2 from trout brain cells. Each compound was identified on the basis of its characteristic physical chemical properties that included MS, MS-MS, UV spectra and chromatographic behavior. The monohydroxy products from DHA, signatures of DHA conversion by lipoxygenases, were also identified. These included both 14S-hydroxy-docosahexaenoic acid and 17S-hydroxy-docosahexaenoic acid. The biosynthesis of these novel bioactive lipid mediators, namely resolvins and protectins, by fish cells provides the first evidence for the conservation of these structures from fish to humans as chemical signals in diverse biological systems.