Unsaturated fatty acids stimulate the formation of lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase products in rat spleen lymphocytes.

Rat spleen lymphocytes prelabelled with [14C] arachidonate were suspended in fresh medium in the presence or absence of exogenous non-radioactive fatty acids added in ethanol. It was found that fatty acids stimulate thromboxane B2, PGE2, HHT and HETE formation. The effect is specific for unsaturated fatty acids. It occurs at 50 micron concentrations and is apparent after 20 minutes incubation. Unsaturated fatty acids may serve an important role in the regulation of prostaglandin and hydroxy fatty acid metabolism in vivo. This may indicate a mechanism for the action of fatty acids on the immune response.