The FASEB Journal, Vol 3, 2052-2061, Copyright © 1989 by The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

REVIEWS

Essential fatty acids and immune response

D Hwang
Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 70808.

The implication that essential fatty acids (EFA) can affect immune response was based on the observation that EFA deficiency can accentuate or improve symptoms of certain autoimmune diseases in animals, and that supplementation of linoleic acid to animals reversed such effects. Furthermore, treatment of animals with cyclooxygenase inhibitors abrogated the effect of linoleic acid. Administration of cyclooxygenase inhibitors to animals enhanced both cell-mediated and humoral immune responses. In vitro studies have shown that prostaglandin E (PGE) group inhibits both T and B lymphocyte functions; it is suggested that effects of EFA on immune response are, in part, mediated through eicosanoids. Growing evidence now suggests that the PGE group of prostaglandins can serve as a negative feedback modulator of immune response. However, in vitro effects of other cyclooxygenase- derived products, such as PGI2 and thromboxane A2 (TXA2) have not been well established, perhaps because of their instability in aqueous media. Unlike the PGE group, some of lipoxygenase-derived products of arachidonic acid have shown immunostimulatory effects, as assessed by lymphokine production in vitro. Whether such effects can be seen in vivo remains to be determined. Some lipoxygenase-derived products with strong chemotactic action may indirectly influence immune response by modulating the population of antigen-presenting macrophages in tissues. Thus, the net effect of eicosanoids synthesized in macrophages on modulating immune response may depend on relative amounts of cyclooxygenase-derived products as compared with lipoxygenase-derived products. Macrophages are the major source of eicosanoids among immunocompetent cells. The profile of eicosanoids, produced in vitro by macrophages, varies with type of stimuli and anatomical sites. It can also be affected by the fatty acid composition of tissue lipids, which in turn can be modified by the composition of dietary EFA. Whether manipulating dietary EFA can modulate immune response in normal humans and animals needs to be determined.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. R. Weatherill, J. Y. Lee, L. Zhao, D. G. Lemay, H. S. Youn, and D. H. Hwang Saturated and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Reciprocally Modulate Dendritic Cell Functions Mediated through TLR4 J. Immunol., May 1, 2005; 174(9): 5390 - 5397. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. C. Bowman and K. L. Bost Cyclooxygenase-2-Mediated Prostaglandin E2 Production in Mesenteric Lymph Nodes and in Cultured Macrophages and Dendritic Cells after Infection with Salmonella J. Immunol., February 15, 2004; 172(4): 2469 - 2475. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y.-Y. Fan, D. N. McMurray, L. H. Ly, and R. S. Chapkin Dietary (n-3) Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Remodel Mouse T-Cell Lipid Rafts J. Nutr., June 1, 2003; 133(6): 1913 - 1920. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Laidlaw and B. J Holub Effects of supplementation with fish oil-derived n-3 fatty acids and {gamma}-linolenic acid on circulating plasma lipids and fatty acid profiles in women Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, January 1, 2003; 77(1): 37 - 42. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. I. Salim, H. Wanibuchi, K. Morimura, T. Murai, S. Makino, T. Nomura, and S. Fukushima Induction of tumors in the colon and liver of the immunodeficient (SCID) mouse by 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f ]quinoline (IQ)--modulation by long-chain fatty acids Carcinogenesis, September 1, 2002; 23(9): 1519 - 1529. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Harizi, M. Juzan, V. Pitard, J.-F. Moreau, and N. Gualde Cyclooxygenase-2-Issued Prostaglandin E2 Enhances the Production of Endogenous IL-10, Which Down-Regulates Dendritic Cell Functions J. Immunol., March 1, 2002; 168(5): 2255 - 2263. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Muscaritoli, G. Grieco, S. Capria, A. Paola Iori, and F. Rossi Fanelli Nutritional and metabolic support in patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, February 1, 2002; 75(2): 183 - 190. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. J. Field, I. R. Johnson, and P. D. Schley Nutrients and their role in host resistance to infection J. Leukoc. Biol., January 1, 2002; 71(1): 16 - 32. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Utsunomiya, S. R Chavali, W W. Zhong, and R A. Forse Effects of sesamin-supplemented dietary fat emulsions on the ex vivo production of lipopolysaccharide-induced prostanoids and tumor necrosis factor {alpha} in rats Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2000; 72(3): 804 - 808. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Kuroda, T. Sugiura, K. Zeki, Y. Yoshida, and U. Yamashita Sensitivity Difference to the Suppressive Effect of Prostaglandin E2 Among Mouse Strains: A Possible Mechanism to Polarize Th2 Type Response in BALB/c Mice J. Immunol., March 1, 2000; 164(5): 2386 - 2395. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Hwang and S. H Rhee Receptor-mediated signaling pathways: potential targets of modulation by dietary fatty acids Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, October 1, 1999; 70(4): 545 - 556. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Chen and K. Auborn Fish oil constituent docosahexa-enoic acid selectively inhibits growth of human papillomavirus immortalized keratinocytes Carcinogenesis, February 1, 1999; 20(2): 249 - 254. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. A. De-Souza and L. J. Greene Pharmacological Nutrition After Burn Injury J. Nutr., May 1, 1998; 128(5): 797 - 803. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				C. A. Jolly, Y.-H. Jiang, R. S. Chapkin, and D. N. McMurray Dietary (n-3) Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Suppress Murine Lymphoproliferation, Interleukin-2 Secretion, and the Formation of Diacylglycerol and Ceramide J. Nutr., January 1, 1997; 127(1): 37 - 43. [Abstract] [Full Text]