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Docosahexaenoic acid ingestion inhibits natural killer cell activity and production of inflammatory mediators in young healthy men

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Lipids

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of feeding docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as triacylglycerol on the fatty acid composition, eicosanoid production, and select activities of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC). A 120-d study with 11 healthy men was conducted at the Metabolic Research Unit of Western Human Nutrition Reach Center. Four subjects (control group) were fed the stabilization diet throughout the study; the remaining seven subjects were fed the basal diet for the first 30 d, followed by 6 g DHA/d for the next 90 d. DHA replaced an equivalent amount of linoleic acid; the two diets were comparable in their total fat and all other nutrients. Both diets were supplemented with 20 mg d α-tocopherol acetate per day. PBMNC fatty acid composition and eicosanoid production were examined on day 30 and 113; immune cell functions were tested on day 22, 30, 78, 85, 106, and 113. DHA feeding increased its concentration from 2.3 to 7.4 wt% in the PBMNC total lipids, and decreased arachidonic acid concentration from 19.8 to 10.7 wt%. It also lowered prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) production, in response to lipopolysaccharide, by 60–75%. Natural killer cell activity and in vitro secretion of interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor α were significantly reduced by DHA feeding. These parameters remained unchanged in the subjects fed the control diet. B-cell functions as reported here and T-cell functions that we reported previously were not altered by DHA feeding. Our results show that inhibitory effects of DHA on immune cell functions varied with the cell type, and that the inhibitory effects are not mediated through increased production of PGE2 and LTB4.

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Abbreviations

DHA:

docosahexaenoic acid

EPA:

eicosapentaenoic acid

HPLC:

high-performance liquid chromatography

IL:

interleukin

IR:

immune response

LTB4:

leukotriene B4

LPS:

lipopolysaccharide

NK:

natural killer

PBMNC:

peripheral blood mononuclear cells

PBS:

phosphate buffered saline

PGE2:

prostaglandin E2

PUFA:

polyunsaturated fatty acids

TLC:

thin-layer chromatography

TNFα:

tumor necrosis factor α

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beltsville Human Nutrition Center, Beltsville, Maryland

    Aldo Ferretti

  2. University of California, Davis, California

    Kent L. Erickson

  3. University of Ulsan, South Korea

    Rina Yu

  4. Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada

    Ranjit K. Chandra

  5. Western Regional Research Center, Albany, California

    B. E. Mackey

  6. Western Human Nutrition Research Center, USDA, ARS, P.O. Box 29997, 94129, Presidio of San Francisco, CA

    D. S. Kelley, P. C. Taylor, G. J. Nelson & Perla C. Schmidt

Authors
  1. D. S. Kelley
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  2. P. C. Taylor
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  3. G. J. Nelson
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  4. Perla C. Schmidt
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  5. Aldo Ferretti
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  9. B. E. Mackey
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Correspondence to D. S. Kelley.

Additional information

Parts of data included here were published in abstracts for the Experimental Biology 98, and the International Congress of Immunology 98, meetings.

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Kelley, D.S., Taylor, P.C., Nelson, G.J. et al. Docosahexaenoic acid ingestion inhibits natural killer cell activity and production of inflammatory mediators in young healthy men. Lipids 34, 317–324 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-999-0369-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-999-0369-5

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