Polyunsaturated fatty acids, inflammation, and immunity
Top Cited Papers
- 1 September 2001
- Vol. 36 (9), 1007-1024
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-001-0812-7
Abstract
The fatty acid composition of inflammatory and immune cells is sensitive to change according to the fatty acid composition of the diet. In particular, the proportion of different types of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in these cells is readily changed, and this provides a link between dietary PUFA intake, inflammation, and immunity. The n−6 PUFA arachidonic acid (AA) is the precursor of prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and related compounds, which have important roles in inflammation and in the regulation of immunity. Fish oil contains the n−3 PUFA eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Feeding fish oil results in partial replacement of AA in cell membranes by EPA. This leads to decreased production of AA‐derived mediators. In addition, EPA is a substrate for cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase and gives rise to mediators that often have different biological actions or potencies than those formed from AA. Animal studies have shown that dietary fish oil results in altered lymphocyte function and in suppressed production of proinflammatory cytokines by macrophages. Supplementation of the diet of healthy human volunteers with fish oil‐derived n−3 PUFA results in decreased monocyte and neutrophil chemotaxis and decreased production of proinflammatory cytokines. Fish oil feeding has been shown to ameliorate the symptoms of some animal models of autoimmune disease. Clinical studies have reported that fish oil supplementation has beneficial effects in rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and among some asthmatics, supporting the idea that the n−3 PUFA in fish oil are antiinflammatory and immunomodulatory.Keywords
This publication has 158 references indexed in Scilit:
- Effect of dietary flaxseed on fatty acid composition, superoxide, nitric oxide generation and antilisterial activity of peritoneal macrophages from female Sprague-Dawley ratsLife Sciences, 1997
- Inhibition of cytokine-stimulated thymic lymphocyte proliferation by fatty acids: The role of eicosanoidsBiochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research, 1994
- Decreased Proinflammatory Cytokines and Increased Antioxidant Enzyme Gene Expression by ω-3 Lipids in Murine Lupus NephritisBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 1994
- Influence of dietary (n-3)-polyunsaturated fatty acids on leukotriene B4 and prostaglandin E2 synthesis and course of experimental tuberculosis in guinea pigsInfection, 1994
- Effect of dietary α-linolenate/linoleate balance on lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor production in mouse macrophagesLife Sciences, 1991
- 5-Series peptido-leukotriene synthesis in mouse peritoneal macrophages: Modulation by dietary n-3 fatty acidsBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 1990
- The Effect of Dietary Supplementation with n—3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on the Synthesis of Interleukin-1 and Tumor Necrosis Factor by Mononuclear CellsThe New England Journal of Medicine, 1989
- Effect of a Fish-Oil-Supplemented Diet on Inflammation and Immunological Processes in RatsInternational Archives of Allergy and Immunology, 1987
- Inhibition of natural killer cell activity of human lymphocytes by eicosapentaenoic acidBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 1986
- Effect of Dietary Enrichment with Eicosapentaenoic and Docosahexaenoic Acids on in Vitro Neutrophil and Monocyte Leukotriene Generation and Neutrophil FunctionThe New England Journal of Medicine, 1985