title: Fatty acid compositions of lipids in mesenteric adipose tissue and lymphoid cells in patients with and without Crohn's disease and their therapeutic implications.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The physiological bases for roles of adipose tissue and fatty acids in the symptoms and dietary treatments of Crohn's disease (CD) are poorly understood. The hypothesis developed from experiments on rodents that perinodal adipocytes are specialized to provision adjacent lymphoid tissues was tested by comparing the composition of triacylglycerol and phospholipid fatty acids in homologous samples of mesenteric adipose tissue and lymph nodes from patients with or without CD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mesenteric perinodal and other adipose tissue and lymph nodes were collected during elective surgery for CD and other conditions. Fatty acids were extracted, identified, and quantified by thin-layer and gas-liquid chromatography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Perinodal adipose tissue contained more unsaturated fatty acids than other adipose tissue in controls, as reported for other mammals, but site-specific differences were absent in CD. Lipids from adipose and lymphoid tissues had more saturated fatty acids but fewer polyunsaturates in patients with CD than controls. In adipose tissue samples, depletion of n-3 polyunsaturates was greatest, but n-6 polyunsaturates, particularly arachidonic acid, were preferentially reduced in lymphoid cells. Ratios of n-6/n-3 polyunsaturates were higher in adipose tissue but lower in lymphoid cells in patients with CD than in controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Site-specific differences in fatty acid composition in normal human mesentery are consistent with local interactions between lymph node lymphoid cells and adjacent adipose tissue. These site-specific properties are absent in CD, causing anomalies in composition of lymphoid cell fatty acids, which may explain the efficacy of elemental diets containing oils rich in n-6 polyunsaturates.
authors.affiliation: Antigen Presentation Research Group, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Westcott
authors.forename: Alastair
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Windsor
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mattacks
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pond
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Knight
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000737:chemistry*; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D008643:Mesentery; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids