title: Effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on the cytoskeleton: an open-label intervention study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) show beneficial effects on cardiovascular health and cognitive functions, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are not completely understood. Because of the fact that cytoskeleton dynamics affect almost every cellular process, the regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics could be a new pathway by which n-3 PUFAs exert their effects on cellular level.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 12-week open-label intervention study with 12 healthy men was conducted to determine the effects of 2.7 g/d n-3 PUFA on changes in mRNA expression of cytoskeleton-associated genes by quantitative real-time PCR in whole blood. Furthermore, the actin content in red blood cells was analyzed by immunofluorescence imaging.
  
  
  RESULTS
  N-3 PUFA supplementation resulted in a significant down-regulation of cytoskeleton-associated genes, in particular three GTPases (RAC1, RHOA, CDC42), three kinases (ROCK1, PAK2, LIMK), two Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome proteins (WASL, WASF2) as well as actin related protein 2/3 complex (ARPC2, ARPC3) and cofilin (CFL1). Variability in F-actin content between subjects was high; reduced actin content was only reduced within group evaluation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Reduced cytoskeleton-associated gene expression after n-3 PUFA supplementation suggests that regulation of cytoskeleton dynamics might be an additional way by which n-3 PUFAs exert their cellular effects. Concerning F-actin, this analysis did not reveal unmistakable results impeding a generalized conclusion.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Leibniz University of Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, 30167, Hannover, Germany. schmidt.simone@arcor.de.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Leibniz University of Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, 30167, Hannover, Germany. willers@nutrition.uni-hannover.de.
authors.forename: Janina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Willers
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Leibniz University of Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, 30167, Hannover, Germany. riecker@nutrition.uni-hannover.de.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Riecker
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Leibniz University of Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, 30167, Hannover, Germany. moeller@nutrition.uni-hannover.de.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Möller
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Leibniz University of Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, 30167, Hannover, Germany. schuchardt@nutrition.uni-hannover.de.
authors.forename: Jan Philipp
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Schuchardt
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Leibniz University of Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, 30167, Hannover, Germany. hahn@nutrition.uni-hannover.de.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hahn
mesh_terms: D051376:Actin-Related Protein 2-3 Complex / Q000187:drug effects; D000328:Adult; D051338:Cofilin 1 / Q000187:drug effects; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000187:drug effects*; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D054461:Lim Kinases / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D051300:Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Protein Family / Q000187:drug effects; D051317:Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Protein, Neuronal / Q000187:drug effects; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein / Q000187:drug effects; D054462:p21-Activated Kinases / Q000187:drug effects; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein / Q000187:drug effects; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases / Q000187:drug effects; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: C000595669:ARPC2 protein, human; C517043:ARPC3 protein, human; D051376:Actin-Related Protein 2-3 Complex; C495810:CFL1 protein, human; D051338:Cofilin 1; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; C107953:RAC1 protein, human; C120152:WASF2 protein, human; C495771:WASL protein, human; D051300:Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Protein Family; D051317:Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Protein, Neuronal; C066737:RHOA protein, human; C515892:LIMK1 protein, human; D054461:Lim Kinases; C515907:PAK2 protein, human; C515851:ROCK1 protein, human; D054462:p21-Activated Kinases; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein