title: Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids increase survival and decrease bacterial load during septic Staphylococcus aureus infection and improve neutrophil function in mice.
abstract: Severe infection, including sepsis, is an increasing clinical problem that causes prolonged morbidity and substantial mortality. At present, antibiotics are essentially the only pharmacological treatment for sepsis. The incidence of resistance to antibiotics is increasing; therefore, it is critical to find new therapies for sepsis. Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of septic mortality. Neutrophils play an important role in the defense against bacterial infections. We have shown that a diet with high levels of dietary saturated fatty acids decreases survival in septic mice, but the mechanisms behind this remain elusive. The aim of the present study was to investigate how the differences in dietary fat composition affect survival and bacterial load after experimental septic infection and neutrophil function in uninfected mice. We found that, after S. aureus infection, mice fed a polyunsaturated high-fat diet (HFD-P) for 8 weeks had increased survival and decreased bacterial load during sepsis compared with mice fed a saturated high-fat diet (HFD-S), similar to mice fed a low-fat diet (LFD). Uninfected mice fed HFD-P had a higher frequency of neutrophils in bone marrow than mice fed HFD-S. In addition, mice fed HFD-P had a higher frequency of neutrophils recruited to the site of inflammation in response to peritoneal injection of thioglycolate than mice fed HFD-S. Differences between the proportion of dietary protein and carbohydrate did not affect septic survival at all. In conclusion, polyunsaturated dietary fat increased both survival and efficiency of bacterial clearance during septic S. aureus infection. Moreover, this diet increased the frequency and chemotaxis of neutrophils, key components of the immune response to S. aureus infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sara L
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2614-1138
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Svahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research, Institute of Medicine, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grahnemo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Vilborg
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pálsdóttir
authors.affiliation: Comparative Genomics Group, Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Intawat
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nookaew
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wendt
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Britt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gabrielsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schéle
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benrick
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Niklas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematical Statistics, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Staffan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden maria.e.johansson@neuro.gu.se.
authors.forename: Maria E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: John-Olov
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Jansson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058491:Bacterial Load / Q000187:drug effects*; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000276:immunology; D002402:Cathepsin D / Q000096:biosynthesis; D002633:Chemotaxis / Q000276:immunology; D004032:Diet; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated / Q000276:immunology*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology*; D018805:Sepsis / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000276:immunology; D013864:Thioglycolates
chemical_list: D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D013864:Thioglycolates; D002402:Cathepsin D