Effects of <i>n</i> -3 very-long-chain PUFA on bone mineralisation

The present study investigated whether dietary <i>n</i>-3 very-long-chain PUFA (<i>n</i>-3 VLC-PUFA) could increase skin and bone mineralisation in Atlantic salmon (<i>Salmo salar</i>) <i>in vivo</i> and examined their potential effects on human osteoblast proliferation and differentiation <i>in vitro</i>. Atlantic salmon were fed different dietary levels of <i>n</i>-3 VLC-PUFA, and changes in tissue <i>n</i>-3 VLC-PUFA composition, skeletal morphology, skin and bone mineral content, bone mineral density (BMD) and gene expression patterns were examined. Additionally, <i>in vitro</i> experiments using human foetal osteoblast cells were conducted to investigate the potential influence of <i>n</i>-3 VLC-PUFA supplementation on cell proliferation, osteogenic differentiation and cytokine expression. The results demonstrated that increasing the dietary levels of <i>n</i>-3 VLC-PUFA increased the mineral content of vertebrae and BMD in salmon, with subtle yet significant impacts on the expression of genes involved in bone-related processes. Furthermore, <i>in vitro</i> experiments showed a potential contextual influence of <i>n</i>-3 VLC-PUFA supplementation on gene expression of osteogenic markers and cytokine expression. Our findings indicate for the first time that <i>n</i>-3 VLC-PUFA may influence processes related to bone mineralisation.