Fatty acid composition of serum phospholipids in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with or without CF related liver disease.
BACKGROUND
In cystic fibrosis (CF), changes in fatty acid (FA) composition of serum phospholipids (PL) and cell membranes can account, in part, for the inflammatory state of the disease. The severity of the genotype is known to correlate with the degree of FA changes. Liver diseases, such as cholestasis and cirrhosis are also known to influence FA status. Until now, there is no data on the influence of CF related liver disease (CFRLD) on the FA status of CF patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate, whether the presence of CFRLD influences FA status.


METHODS
A fasting blood sample for the determination of serum vitamin E and PL-FA composition was collected from 79 CF patients with stable pulmonary disease and under good control in our CF centre. Patients with CFRLD (n=13) were compared to CF patients with the same severity of genotype (n=66) but without CFRLD.


RESULTS
The CF patients with CFRLD had lower docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) and increased docosatetraenoic acid (22:4n-6). There were no significant differences in the precursors of these FAs.


CONCLUSIONS
DHA concentration in patients with CFRLD is decreased more substantially compared with their genotype controls. The presence of CFRLD should be taken into account in future FA studies in CF patients.
Cystic Fibrosis Centre, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium. stephanie.vanbiervliet@ugent.be
Stephanie
S
Van Biervliet
Jean-Pierre
JP
Van Biervliet
Eddy
E
Robberecht
Armand
A
Christophe
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000097:blood*; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
D005227:Fatty Acids; D010743:Phospholipids; D014810:Vitamin E; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids