title: Effect of oral ingestion of eicosapentaenoic acid-ethyl ester on natural killer cell activity in rat spleen cells.
abstract: Effect of ingestion of eicosapentaenoic acid-ethyl ester (EPA-E) on natural killer (NK) cell activity in rat spleen was examined. EPA-E ingestion during four weeks (100 mg/kg/day) significantly depressed NK cell activity. After EPA-E ingestion, EPA content in the spleen cell lipids was significantly increased, compared to that in control rat spleen cells, and AA content was not changed. Production of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) in spleen cells obtained from rats fed with EPA-E (EPA rats) was significantly decreased, compared to that from control rats. A decreased NK cell activity in spleen cells obtained from EPA rats was recovered by the addition of LTB4 in a dose-dependent manner. The current data indicate that EPA-E-induced inhibition of NK cell activity is mediated at least partially by the decrease of LTB4 production.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Chiba University, Japan.
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshida
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D007975:Leukotriene B4 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D007975:Leukotriene B4; C035276:eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid