Altered expression of fatty acid desaturases in the skin of dogs with atopic dermatitis.

Fig. 1. Pathway of biosynthesis and metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids. All mam synthesis is palmitic acid (16: 0) which can be elongated to stearic acid (18:0). Stearic a present in cells of both plants and animals. Mammalian cells lack D-12 desaturase and desaturase, the enzyme responsible for the synthesis ofa-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3 n-3) o on their diet. Once consumed, these EFA can bemetabolised to other FA. Thus, LA, the pare 6) and dihomo-g-linolenic acid (DGLA; 20:3 n-6) to arachidonic acid (AA; 20:4 n-6). For th a-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3 n-3) can be metabolised via stearidonic acid (SDA; 18:4 n-