Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Global Nutrition Education, Organic Technologies, Coshocton, OH, USA.
Mol Nutr Food Res. 2018 Jan;62(1). doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201700504. Epub 2017 Dec 11.
Although dietary fatty acids can modulate metabolic and immune responses, the effects of palmitoleic acid (16:1n-7) remain unclear. Since this monounsaturated fatty acid is described as a lipokine, studies with cell culture and rodent models have suggested it enhances whole body insulin sensitivity, stimulates insulin secretion by β cells, increases hepatic fatty acid oxidation, improves the blood lipid profile, and alters macrophage differentiation. However, human studies report elevated blood levels of palmitoleic acid in people with obesity and metabolic syndrome. These findings might be reflection of the level or activity of stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1, which synthesizes palmitoleate and is enhanced in liver and adipose tissue of obese patients. The aim of this review is to describe the immune-metabolic effects of palmitoleic acid observed in cell culture, animal models, and humans to answer the question of whether palmitoleic acid is a plausible nonpharmacological strategy to prevent, control, or ameliorate chronic metabolic and inflammatory disorders. Despite the beneficial effects observed in cell culture and in animal studies, there are insufficient human intervention studies to fully understand the physiological effects of palmitoleic acid. Therefore, more human-based research is needed to identify whether palmitoleic acid meets the promising therapeutic potential suggested by the preclinical research.
虽然膳食脂肪酸可以调节代谢和免疫反应，但棕榈油酸（16:1n-7）的作用仍不清楚。由于这种单不饱和脂肪酸被描述为一种脂肪因子，因此细胞培养和啮齿动物模型的研究表明，它可以增强全身胰岛素敏感性，刺激β细胞分泌胰岛素，增加肝脏脂肪酸氧化，改善血脂谱，并改变巨噬细胞分化。然而，人类研究报告肥胖症和代谢综合征患者血液中棕榈油酸水平升高。这些发现可能反映了硬脂酰辅酶 A 去饱和酶-1 的水平或活性，该酶合成棕榈油酸，在肥胖患者的肝脏和脂肪组织中增强。本综述的目的是描述棕榈油酸在细胞培养、动物模型和人类中观察到的免疫代谢作用，以回答棕榈油酸是否是一种可行的非药物策略，以预防、控制或改善慢性代谢和炎症性疾病的问题。尽管在细胞培养和动物研究中观察到了有益的作用，但仍缺乏足够的人体干预研究来完全了解棕榈油酸的生理作用。因此，需要更多基于人体的研究来确定棕榈油酸是否符合临床前研究提出的有希望的治疗潜力。
