EPA and DHA differentially affect in vitro inflammatory cytokine release by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from Alzheimer's patients.
It has been hypothesized that pro-inflammatory cytokines may play a pathogenic role in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may be protective against the development and progression of this disease. A reduced release of inflammatory cytokines by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from AD patients dietary supplemented with a mixture of eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was recently reported. On this basis, we investigated the possible differential effects of the two purified fatty acids on inflammatory cytokine release, a subject still not explored, even though of great pharmacological interest. We treated in vitro phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)- or LPS-stimulated PBMCs from AD patients and age-matched healthy controls (HCs) with purified EPA or DHA. Higher pro- to anti-inflammatory cytokine ratios, indicative of a pro-inflammatory profile, were observed in PHA-stimulated PBMCs from AD patients in basal conditions. The addition of both EPA and DHA markedly reduced the cytokine release, with DHA showing always a more prominent effect than EPA. However, whereas DHA reduced only the high IL-1β/IL-10 ratio, EPA was able to reduce also the IL-6/IL-10 ratio. In stimulated PMBCs from HCs the reducing effect on cytokine release was not always observed, or observed at a lower degree. In conclusion, whereas DHA appeared more powerful in inhibiting each single inflammatory cytokine, the proinflammatory profile of the AD patients' cells was better reverted by EPA to a profile more similar to that found in HCs. A combination of both the fatty acids, seems to be still the best solution.
Institute of General Pathology, Università Cattolica S. Cuore, L.go F. Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy.
Simona
S
Serini
Alessandra
A
Bizzarro
Elisabetta
E
Piccioni
Elena
E
Fasano
Concetta
C
Rossi
Alessandra
A
Lauria
Achille R M
AR
Cittadini
Carlo
C
Masullo
Gabriella
G
Calviello
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male
D016207:Cytokines; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid