Lim BO ; Jolly CA ; Zaman K ; Fernandes G ;

J Nutr vol. 130 (7)   pp. 1657-64, Jui 2000

Department of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA.

We previously showed that dietary fish oil (FO) and energy restriction (R) have beneficial anti-inflammatory properties in the peripheral blood and spleens of (NZB x NZW)F1 (B/W) lupus-prone mice. Furthermore, unsaturated fatty acids also were shown in the past to influence mesenteric lymph node (MLN) lymphocyte function in healthy young rats. The MLN play a pivotal role in mediating food allergy. To date, the effect of R on intestinal immunity is not well understood; therefore we determined the effect of diet on MLN lymphocyte function. Mice were given either free access to a 5 g/100 g corn oil (CO) or fish oil (FO) diet or the same corn oil (CR) or fish oil (FR) diets restricted to 60% of the intake of the control group. At the age of 4 (young) and 8 (old) mo, MLN lymphocytes were isolated and B- (CD19(+)) and T-lymphocyte subsets (CD4(+) and CD8(+)) were determined by flow cytometry. Additional MLN lymphocytes were placed in culture with or without concanavalin A and culture supernatants collected after 72 h for cytokine and immunoglobulin (Ig) quantitation by ELISA. Aging significantly (P < 0.05) decreased both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T- lymphocytes. Spontaneous and activation-induced interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-10, and interferon-gamma secretion were greater while IL-2 was lower in CO-fed old mice compared to CO-fed young mice. In contrast, CR or FO alone partially blunted the age-dependent alterations in T-lymphocyte ratios including cytokine and Ig secretion, whereas the FR diet significantly (P < 0.005) normalized the accelerated aging effects on these immune variables. We show for the first time that FR is a far more potent anti-inflammatory therapy than either CR or FO alone in modulating MLN lymphocyte function.

Aging: immunology ;  Animal ;  Autoimmune Diseases: immunology ;  Body weight ;  Dietary Fats,Unsaturated: pharmacology ;  Energy metabolism ;  Fatty Acids,Omega-3: pharmacology ;  Fatty Acids,Unsaturated: pharmacology ;  Female ;  Food deprivation ;  Immunoglobulins: biosynthesis ;  Interferon Type II: metabolism ;  Interleukin-2: metabolism ;  Lymph Nodes: cytology ;  Lymphocytes: physiology ;  Mesentery ;  Mice ;  Proteinuria: metabolism ;  Rats ;  Spleen: cytology ;  Support,U.S.Gov't,P.H.S. ;  14590 ;