Enhanced Energy Metabolism and Developmental Signaling in Neonatal Brains of Female Piglets Parenterally Fed with 18-Carbon n-3 Fatty Acid-Based Vegaven Compared with Fish Oil-Containing Lipid Emulsion.

Authors

Eliana Lucchinetti, Phing-How Lou, Fulin Wang, Mirielle L Pauline, Mahabub Alam, Pamela R Wizzard, Zain Patel, Qiumin Tan, Patrick N Nation, Catherine J Field, Eytan Wine, Stefanie D Krämer, Paul W Wales, Justine M Turner, Michael Zaugg

Published in

Current developments in nutrition. Volume 10. Issue 7. Pages 109400. Epub Jun 17, 2026.

Abstract

Vegaven, an intravenous lipid emulsion based on 18-carbon n-3 (ω-3) fatty acids, reduces the accumulation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in peripheral organs including the brain of parenterally fed piglets compared with fish oil-containing SMOFlipid. Inflammation may impair brain energy metabolism and growth signaling.
This study aimed to compare key brain metabolic and developmental signaling pathways with the use of different lipid emulsions for parenteral nutrition (PN).
In this study, 3-4-d-old female piglets were randomly assigned to isocaloric isonitrogenous PN with Vegaven (VEGA, N = 10) or SMOFlipid (SMOF, N = 9). After 14 d of PN, plasma and tissue samples were collected.
LPS and tumor necrosis factor-α were lower in brain tissue samples (prefrontal cortex) of VEGA compared with SMOF. Brain pyruvate dehydrogenase activity and the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate in both liver and brain were higher in VEGA. In contrast, there was higher phosphorylation and activation of adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (p^Thr172AMPK), a sensor of energy stress and master regulator of catabolic metabolic pathways, in brain samples of SMOF without compensatory increase in fatty acid oxidation. Anabolic signaling in the brain was higher in VEGA compared with SMOF, as indicated by higher insulin receptor substrate-1 and Akt-substrate of 160 kDa abundance, and higher phosphorylation of mammalian target of rapamycin (p^Ser2448mTOR), essential for axon growth, dendrite arborization, and memory function. The transcription factors cAMP-response-element-binding-protein-1 (p^Ser133CREB1) and c-Jun, critical for brain development, showed higher nuclear abundance in brain samples of VEGA compared with SMOF.
In neonatal brains of parenterally fed female piglets, Vegaven reduced inflammation and enhanced energy metabolism and developmental signaling compared with SMOFlipid.

PMID:
42438771
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Jul 2026.

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