A nutrient combination that can affect synapse formation
Open accessAbstract
Brain neurons form synapses throughout the life span. This process is initiated by neuronal depolarization, however the numbers of synapses thus formed depend on brain levels of three key nutrients-uridine, the omega-3 fatty acid DHA, and choline. Given together, these nutrients accelerate formation of synaptic membrane, the major component of synapses. In infants, when synaptogenesis is maximal, relatively large amounts of all three nutrients are provided in bioavailable forms (e.g., uridine in the UMP of mothers' milk and infant formulas). However, in adults the uridine in foods, mostly present at RNA, is not bioavailable, and no food has ever been compelling demonstrated to elevate plasma uridine levels. Moreover, the quantities of DHA and choline in regular foods can be insufficient for raising their blood levels enough to promote optimal synaptogenesis. In Alzheimer's disease (AD) the need for extra quantities of the three nutrients is enhanced, both because their basal plasma levels may be subnormal (reflecting impaired hepatic synthesis), and because especially high brain levels are needed for correcting the disease-related deficiencies in synaptic membrane and synapses.
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Uridine (as uridine monophosphate), docosahexaenoic acid and choline are phospholipid precursors needed for the formation and maintenance of neuronal membranes.
“Uridine (as uridine monophosphate, UMP), the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and choline are phospholipid precursors needed for the formation and maintenance of neuronal membranes (Araki and Wurtman, 1998;Wurtman, 2014).”
From The Gut-Brain Axis in Parkinson’s Disease: Possibilities for Food-Based Therapies (2017) · cites this paper as Wurtman, 2014
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The Gut-Brain Axis in Parkinson’s Disease: Possibilities for Food-Based Therapies
Perez-Pardo, P., Kliest, T., Dodiya, H. B., Broersen, L. M., Garssen, J., Keshavarzian, A., & Kraneveld, A. D. (2017) · European Journal of Pharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.ejphar.2017.05.042 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
“…pathology provide compelling targets for interventions in PD. Uridine (as uridine monophosphate, UMP), the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and choline are phospholipid precursors needed for the formation and maintenance of neuronal membranes (Araki and Wurtman, 1998; Wurtman, 2014).”
BackgroundN-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids through the Lifespan: Implication for Psychopathology
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Vegetarian diets, circulating miRNA expression and healthspan in subjects living in the Blue Zone
Liu, T., Gatto, N. M., Chen, Z., Qiu, H., Lee, G., Duerksen-Hughes, P., Fraser, G., & Wang, C. (2020) · Precision Clinical Medicine · doi:10.1093/pcmedi/pbaa037 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
- Authors
- Wurtman, R.
- Affiliations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Corresponding author
- Wurtman, Richard
- Venue
- Nutrients
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2014-04-23
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1701-1710
- ISSN
- 2072-6643 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4011061
- OpenAlex
- W1563723502
- Cited by
- 68
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 7.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nutrients (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Fatty Acid Research and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Keywords
- synaptogenesis, uridine, docosahexaenoic acid, choline, synaptic membranes, Alzheimer's disease, infant formula, breast milk, dietary bioavailability, hepatic synthesis
- MeSH terms
- Alzheimer Disease, Brain, Choline, Humans, Phospholipids, Synapses, Uridine, Fatty Acids, Omega-3, Neurites, Micronutrients
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