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Current Alzheimer Research

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1567-2050
ISSN (Online): 1875-5828

EPA and DHA Differentially Affect In Vitro Inflammatory Cytokine Release by Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from Alzheimer’s Patients

Author(s): Simona Serini, Alessandra Bizzarro, Elisabetta Piccioni, Elena Fasano, Concetta Rossi, Alessandra Lauria, Achille R.M. Cittadini, Carlo Masullo and Gabriella Calviello

Volume 9, Issue 8, 2012

Page: [913 - 923] Pages: 11

DOI: 10.2174/156720512803251147

Price: $65

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, cytokines, DHA, EPA, inflammation, PBMCs, HCs, PUFAs


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