Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Spain.
BMC Genomics. 2011 Apr 11;12:182. doi: 10.1186/1471-2164-12-182.
Diet plays a role on the development of the immune system, and polyunsaturated fatty acids can modulate the expression of a variety of genes. Human milk contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a fatty acid that seems to contribute to immune development. Indeed, recent studies carried out in our group in suckling animals have shown that the immune function is enhanced after feeding them with an 80:20 isomer mix composed of c9,t11 and t10,c12 CLA. However, little work has been done on the effects of CLA on gene expression, and even less regarding immune system development in early life.
The expression profile of mesenteric lymph nodes from animals supplemented with CLA during gestation and suckling through dam's milk (Group A) or by oral gavage (Group B), supplemented just during suckling (Group C) and control animals (Group D) was determined with the aid of the specific GeneChip(®) Rat Genome 230 2.0 (Affymettrix). Bioinformatics analyses were performed using the GeneSpring GX software package v10.0.2 and lead to the identification of 89 genes differentially expressed in all three dietary approaches. Generation of a biological association network evidenced several genes, such as connective tissue growth factor (Ctgf), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (Timp1), galanin (Gal), synaptotagmin 1 (Syt1), growth factor receptor bound protein 2 (Grb2), actin gamma 2 (Actg2) and smooth muscle alpha actin (Acta2), as highly interconnected nodes of the resulting network. Gene underexpression was confirmed by Real-Time RT-PCR.
Ctgf, Timp1, Gal and Syt1, among others, are genes modulated by CLA supplementation that may have a role on mucosal immune responses in early life.
饮食在免疫系统的发育中起着作用，多不饱和脂肪酸可以调节多种基因的表达。人乳中含有共轭亚油酸（CLA），这种脂肪酸似乎有助于免疫发育。事实上，我们小组最近在哺乳动物中的研究表明，用由 c9,t11 和 t10,c12 CLA 组成的 80:20 异构体混合物喂养它们后，免疫功能得到增强。然而，关于 CLA 对基因表达的影响，以及关于生命早期免疫系统发育的研究甚少。
用 CLA 补充剂通过母体乳汁（A 组）或口服灌胃（B 组）在妊娠和哺乳期补充动物，以及仅在哺乳期补充（C 组）和对照组（D 组）的肠系膜淋巴结的表达谱用特定的 GeneChip(®)Rat Genome 230 2.0（Affymettrix）来确定。使用 GeneSpring GX 软件包 v10.0.2 进行生物信息学分析，并确定了所有三种饮食方法中差异表达的 89 个基因。生成生物关联网络证明了几个基因，如结缔组织生长因子（Ctgf）、金属蛋白酶组织抑制剂 1（Timp1）、甘丙肽（Gal）、突触结合蛋白 1（Syt1）、生长因子受体结合蛋白 2（Grb2）、肌动蛋白γ 2（Actg2）和平滑肌α肌动蛋白（Acta2），作为网络的高度互联节点。通过实时 RT-PCR 证实了基因表达下调。
Ctgf、Timp1、Gal 和 Syt1 等是 CLA 补充剂调节的基因，它们可能在生命早期的黏膜免疫反应中发挥作用。
