Effect of N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplemented diet on neutrophil-mediated ileal permeability and neutrophil function in the rat.

Abstract

Fish oil, rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, can alter leukotriene production and hence neutrophil function, factors which may be important in the inflammation of Crohn's disease (CD). Therefore we studied the effect of dietary PUFA on neutrophil mediated ileal inflammation and neutrophil function in the rat.

Animals were ad libitum-fed pellet diets containing 9.5% fish oil (menhaden oil, rich in n-3 PUFA) with 0.5% safflower oil, 10% safflower oil (rich in n-6 PUFA) or standard chow (6% fat) for 50 days prior to the study. Weight and circulating leukocyte and total neutrophil counts were identical in all three groups. Neutrophil mediated ileal inflammation induced by formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) perfusion was evaluated by measuring macromolecular uptake of radiolabelled dextran (MW 70,000) and changes in mucosal neutrophil infiltration.

The fish oil diet group showed no difference in fMLP-induced permeability changes relative to the Chow Control group. However, the Safflower Oil supplemented diet group had a reduced permeability response (p < 0.01). Mirroring the permeability changes, there was diminished mucosal neutrophil infiltration in the Safflower Oil group following ileal perfusion with fMLP (< .005). Chemotaxis and chemiluminescence, two important neutrophil functions, were also significantly suppressed in the Safflower Oil animals (p < 0.05).

The failure of a n-3 PUFA enriched diet to diminish the ileal inflammatory response to a bacterial peptide and suppress neutrophil function in the rat suggests such therapy would not be expected to be highly successful in CD. However, it requires confirmation in man, especially under the more complicated inflammatory conditions found in CD. On the other hand, the decreased neutrophil mediated responses with a high linoleic acid (n-6 PUFA) diet warrant further investigation.