Figure 17.

Exercise contributes to the action of an omega-3 diet by supporting plasma membrane homeostasis. Exercise enhanced the effects of docosahexaenoic (DHA) dietary supplementation on syntaxin 3 (STX-3), a protein associated with synaptic membrane (A). The values were converted to percent of RD-Sed controls (mean ± SEM; ANOVA; **, P < 0.01). (B) The levels of STX-3 changed proportionally to the amount of exercise in animals fed the DHA diet (DHA-Exc). (C–F) Immunofluorescence for STX-3 in coronal sections of the hippocampus after DHA diet combined with exercise. Representative sections show STX-3 red fluorescence label (Cy3 secondary antibody) in RD-Sed (C and E) controls and DHA-Exc (D and F) rats. High magnification photomicrographs of CA3 hippocampal areas highlighted in E and F show a marked increase in STX-3 immunofluorescence (white arrows) in a (F) DHA-Exc rat compared to a (E) RD-Sed control. Immunofluorescence for myelin-associated glycoprotein was performed in the same brain sections to label myelinated axons in green (FITC secondary antibody). Reprinted, with permission, from reference (27), p. 34.