Dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids increase T-lymphocyte phospholipid mass and acyl-CoA binding protein expression.

Dietary flaxseed oil, which is enriched in alpha-linolenic acid, and fish oil, which is enriched in EPA and DHA, possess anti-inflammatory properties when compared with safflower oil, which is enriched in linoleic acid. The influence of flaxseed oil and fish oil feeding on lipid metabolism in T-lymphocytes is currently unknown. This study directly compared the effects of feeding safflower oil, flaxseed oil, and fish oil for 8 wk on splenic T-lymphocyte proliferation, phospholipid mass, and acyl-CoA binding protein expression in the rat. The data show that both flaxseed oil and fish oil increased acyl-CoA binding protein expression and phosphatidic acid mass in unstimulated T-lymphocytes when compared with safflower oil feeding. Fish oil feeding increased cardiolipin mass, whereas flaxseed oil had no effect. After stimulation, flaxseed oil and fish oil blunted T-lymphocyte interleukin-2 production and subsequent proliferation, which was associated with the lack of increased acyl-CoA binding protein expression. The results reported show evidence for a novel mechanism by which dietary flaxseed oil and fish oil suppress T-lymphocyte proliferation via changes in acyl-CoA binding protein expression and phospholipid mass.