Prevention of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in Lewis rats by a novel fungal source of γ-linolenic acid
- 1 November 1995
- journal article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in British Journal of Nutrition
- Vol. 74 (5), 701-715
- https://doi.org/10.1079/bjn19950173
Abstract
The effects of oral administration of linoleic- and γ-inolenic-acid-rich oils on the clinical and histopathological manifestations of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) were investigated in Lewis rats 7 d post-inoculation. γ-Linolenic-acid-rich fungal (Mucor javanicus) oil at 500 mg/kg body weight abrogated clinical and histological signs of EAE although at doses of 200 and 1000 mg/kg body weight it was only effective in delaying the onset of clinical disease. Linoleic-acid-rich safflower-seed (Carthamus tinctorius) oil at 500, 750 and 1000 mg/kg body weight decreased the severity of clinical EAE. disease in a dose-dependent manner. The effects in healthy animals of orally administered γ-linolenic-acid-rich fungal oil (500 mg/kg body weight) and linoleic-acid-rich safflower-seed oil (1000 mg/kg body weight) on splenic lymphocyte proliferative responses to the T-cell mitogen concanavalin-A (Con A), membrane fatty acid composition and lymphocyte sub-sets were also studied. Both treatments enhanced the T-cell proliferative response to Con A. There was no significant effect on the proportion of splenic CD8+or CD4+lymphocytes. Compositional studies on splenic phosphoglyceride fatty acids of oil-treated animals suggest the above responses were associated with increases in spleen dihomo-γ-linolenic and arachidonic acids.Keywords
This publication has 28 references indexed in Scilit:
- TH1 and TH2 Cells: Different Patterns of Lymphokine Secretion Lead to Different Functional PropertiesAnnual Review of Immunology, 1989
- Red blood cell fatty acids in multiple sclerosisActa Neurologica Scandinavica, 1989
- Linoleic acid levels in white blood cells, platelets, and serum of multiple sclerosis patientsActa Neurologica Scandinavica, 1987
- Essential fatty acids in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of multiple sclerosis patientsActa Neurologica Scandinavica, 1983
- Essential fatty acids and cell-mediated immunityProgress in Lipid Research, 1981
- The effect of prostaglandin precursors in in vivo models of cell-mediated immunityProgress in Lipid Research, 1981
- Suppression by essential fatty acids of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis is abolished by indomethacinProstaglandins and Medicine, 1978
- Comparative Studies on the Metabolic Equivalence of Linoleic and Arachidonic AcidsAnnals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 1977
- Relationship between plasma and lymphocyte linoleate in multiple sclerosis.Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1976
- Further studies on platelet adhesiveness and serum cholesteryl linoleate levels in multiple sclerosis.Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1968