Effects of dietary fatty acids on delayed-type hypersensitivity in mice.

Effects of an essential fatty acid deficient (EFAD) [0% corn oil (CO)] diet and a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids [PUFA (50% CO)] on one aspect of in vivo T cell function [delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH)] were assessed. After a 70-day feeding trial, DTH was reduced by 30% in mice fed the EFAD diet, but the response of mice fed the high PUFA diet equaled that of control mice fed a diet containing 13% CO. The time required for the EFAD diet to reduce DTH was 42 days. Although consumption of the EFAD diet reduced DTH, this reduction was rapidly reversed, within 7 days, by switching the EFAD mice to the control diet. These results indicate that :1) consumption of the EFAD diet reduces one aspect of in vivo T cell function (DTH), but the effect can be reversed by refeeding the control diet; and 2) a high PUFA diet does not adversely affect DTH.