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Krill oil versus fish oil in modulation of inflammation and lipid metabolism in mice transgenic for TNF-α

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Abstract

Purpose

Biological effects of marine oils, fish oil (FO) and krill oil (KO), are mostly attributed to the high content of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs), predominantly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The study was aimed to investigate the influence of FO and KO on lipid homeostasis and inflammation in an animal model of persistent low-grade exposure to human tumor necrosis factor α (hTNF-α) and to evaluate whether these effects depend on the structural forms of EPA and DHA [triacylglycerols (TAG) vs. phospholipids].

Methods

Male C57BL/6 hTNF-α mice were fed for 6 weeks a high-fat control diet (24.50 % total fats, w/w) or high-fat diets containing either FO or KO at similar doses of n-3 PUFAs (EPA: 5.23 vs. 5.39 wt%, DHA: 2.82 vs. 2.36 wt% of total fatty acids).

Results

We found that KO, containing bioactive n-3 PUFAs in the form of phospholipids, was capable of modulating lipid metabolism by lowering plasma levels of TAG and cholesterol and stimulating the mitochondrial and peroxisomal fatty acid β-oxidation, as well as improving the overall carnitine turnover. Though the administration of FO was not as effective as KO in the lowering of plasma TAG, FO significantly improved the levels of all cholesterol classes in plasma. Except from the increase in the levels of IL-17 in FO-fed mice and a trend to decrease in MCP-1 levels in KO-fed animals, the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines were not substantially different between treatment groups.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate that FO and KO are comparable dietary sources of n-3 PUFAs. However, when quantitatively similar doses of n-3 PUFAs are administered, KO seems to have a greater potential to promote lipid catabolism. The effect of dietary oils on the levels of inflammatory markers in hTNF-α transgenic mice fed a high-fat diet needs further investigations.

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Abbreviations

ACOX1:

Acyl-CoA oxidase 1

CPT:

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase

DHA:

Docosahexaenoic acid

EPA:

Eicosapentaenoic acid

FFA:

Free fatty acids

GPAT:

Glycerol phosphate acyltransferase

HDL:

High-density lipoprotein

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

LDL:

Low-density lipoprotein

MUFA:

Monounsaturated fatty acid

PPAR:

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acid

SFA:

Saturated fatty acid

TAG:

Triacylglycerol

TNF-α:

Tumor necrosis factor α

VLDL:

Very low-density lipoprotein

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Acknowledgments

We thank Liv Kristine Øysæd, Kari Williams, Randi Sandvik, Torunn Eide and Svein Krüger for excellent technical assistance. This work was supported by grants from Nordforsk, grant 070010, MitoHealth and the Research Council of Norway, grant 190287/110.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Medicine, University of Bergen, 5021, Bergen, Norway

    Natalya Filipchuk Vigerust, Bodil Bjørndal, Pavol Bohov, Asbjørn Svardal & Rolf Kristian Berge

  2. Department of Heart Disease, Haukeland University Hospital, 5021, Bergen, Norway

    Rolf Kristian Berge

  3. National Institute of Fisheries, NIFES, 5804, Bergen, Norway

    Trond Brattelid

Authors
  1. Natalya Filipchuk Vigerust
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  2. Bodil Bjørndal
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Correspondence to Natalya Filipchuk Vigerust.

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Vigerust, N.F., Bjørndal, B., Bohov, P. et al. Krill oil versus fish oil in modulation of inflammation and lipid metabolism in mice transgenic for TNF-α. Eur J Nutr 52, 1315–1325 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-012-0441-2

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