Hepatic and plasma sex differences in saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids are associated with differences in expression of elongase 6, but not stearoyl-CoA desaturase in Sprague–Dawley rats

Table 1 Fatty acid composition of liver phospholipids, plasma phospholipids and erythrocytes of male and female rats fed AIN-93G diet

Fatty acid	Liver phospholipids (μg fatty acid/g liver)		Plasma phospholipids (μg fatty acid/ml plasma)		Erythrocytes (μg fatty acid/g erythrocytes)
Fatty acid	Males	Females	Males	Females	Males	Females
14:0	31 ± 8	28 ± 9	N.D.	N.D.	24 ± 9	27 ± 14
16:0	3,515 ± 196	2,757 ± 616*	90 ± 6	64 ± 11^§	672 ± 61	615 ± 83
18:0	3,987 ± 325	5,943 ± 1,429^†	85 ± 6	137 ± 62	406 ± 29	548 ± 37^§
20:0	16 ± 2	15 ± 2	0.67 ± 0.07	0.67 ± 0.21	4.9 ± 0.9	5.9 ± 1.4
22:0	36 ± 6	38 ± 6	1.8 ± 0.2	2.1 ± 0.4	8.4 ± 1.4	11.1 ± 0.9^†
24:0	92 ± 17	110 ± 16	4.9 ± 0.3	5.4 ± 0.9	23 ± 5	27 ± 4
Total SFA	7,710 ± 533	8,934 ± 3,038	184 ± 11	211 ± 72	1,231 ± 148	1,323 ± 141
14:1	0.4 ± 0.3	0.8 ± 1.1	0.02 ± 0.03	0.01 ± 0.03	0.3 ± 0.2	0.6 ± 0.4
16:1n-7	45 ± 11	34 ± 10	0.66 ± 0.14	0.46 ± 0.14*	7.8 ± 3.2	5.5 ± 1.3
18:1n-7	527 ± 49	293 ± 66^§	6 ± 3	3 ± 1	61 ± 3	49 ± 5^‡
18:1n-9	546 ± 47	390 ± 80^†	8.2 ± 1.2	5.6 ± 1.4^†	156 ± 14	137 ± 20
20:1n-9	25 ± 5	12 ± 2^§	0.42 ± 0.04	0.18 ± 0.05^§	3.5 ± 0.6	3.4 ± 0.9
22:1n-9	5.6 ± 2.3	6.2 ± 1.8	0.30 ± 0.06	0.30 ± 0.03	7.7 ± 1.6	9.8 ± 4.6
24:1n-9	26 ± 3	30 ± 4	3 ± 0.3	3 ± 0.6	14.0 ± 1.7	14.8 ± 1.3
Total MUFA	1,177 ± 100	766 ± 159^§	18 ± 3	13 ± 3^†	251 ± 17	221 ± 24
Total n-6 PUFA	7,823 ± 643	7,262 ± 1,664*	120 ± 10	98 ± 21	1,268 ± 182	1,141 ± 132
Total n-3 PUFA	1,284 ± 134	2,096 ± 346^§	11 ± 2	14 ± 4	122 ± 11	141 ± 8
Total fatty acids	18,406 ± 1,183	19,391 ± 4,242	332 ± 18	335 ± 95	3,001 ± 159	2,978 ± 166

Data are mean ± SD from three determinations of fatty acid concentrations (n = 6 for each sex)
Significant sex differences are denoted by * p < 0.05, ^† p < 0.01, ^‡ p < 0.005, ^§ p < 0.001

ISSN: 1865-3499