Effect of dietary supplementation with increasing doses of docosahexaenoic acid on neutrophil lipid composition and leukotriene production in human healthy volunteers.

n-3 PUFA supplementation helps in the prevention or treatment of inflammatory diseases and CVD. However, many supplementations reported sofar are either a combination of n-3 PUFA or used large daily amounts of n-3 PUFA dosages. The present study investigated the influence of increasing dose intake of DHA on the fatty acid composition of phospholipids in neutrophils and on their capability to produce leukotrienes(LT) B4 and B5 in vitro. Twelve healthy volunteers were supplemented with increasing daily doses of DHA (200, 400, 800 and 1600 mg, each dose in TAG containing DHA as the only PUFA and for a 2-week period). At the end of each supplementation period, neutrophil fatty acid composition,and LTB4 and LTB5 production were determined by GC and liquid chromatography-tandem MS, respectively. The DHA/arachidonic acid ratio increased in a dose-dependent manner with respect to the increasing doses of DHA supplementation and was significantly different from baseline after supplementation with either 400, 800 or 1600 mg DHA. The LTB5/LTB4 ratio was significantly increased compared to baseline after supplementation with 800 and 1600 mg DHA. LTB5/LTB4 and DHA/arachidonic acid ratios were correlated (r 0.531, P<0.0001). The present data suggest that both changes in neutrophil lipid composition and LT production occurred with daily supplementation with 800 and 1600 mg DHA. The clinical benefits associated with these doses of DHA in inflammatory diseases remain to be investigated.

Platelets may inhibit leucotriene biosynthesis by human neutrophils at the integrin level.

Polymorphonuclear leucocytes and blood platelets co-operate in several pathophysiological processes, and arachidonic acid (AA) metabolites produced in response to the activation of these cells are potent mediators of their functions. We studied the role of platelets in the formation of 5-lipoxygenase products from AA by autologous neutrophils, especially the chemotactic agent leucotriene (LT) B4. The formation of all products, namely 5-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid (5-HETE), LTB4 and the other LTA4-derived metabolites, in response to the calcium ionophore A23187 was evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography. All the 5-lipoxygenase products were significantly diminished by physiological concentrations of platelets. This inhibitory effect was lost when platelets were previously degranulated by thrombin in non-aggregating conditions. Peptides containing the Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser or His-His-Leu-Gly-Gly-Ala-Lys-Gln-Ala-Gly-Asp-Val sequence, which prevent the adhesion of platelets to neutrophils via the fibrinogen released from platelet granules and the integrin glycoprotein IIb/IIIa, markedly decreased the inhibitory effect of non-degranulated platelets. The production of transcellular metabolites of AA such as LTC4, the dual 5- and 12-lipoxygenase product 5,12-diHETE and lipoxins could not account for the decreased formation of 5-HETE and LTA4-derived metabolites. It is concluded that platelets may inhibit the neutrophil 5-lipoxygenase activity at the integrin level and in turn may play a role in slowing down the production of LTB4 in the course of inflammation.

Platelets abrogate leukotriene B(4) generation by human blood neutrophils stimulated with monosodium urate monohydrate or f-Met-Leu-Phe in vitro.

Neutrophils are physiologically associated with platelets in whole blood. Inflammatory reactions can be modulated by the presence of platelets. To investigate the influence of platelets on neutrophil activity, we studied the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) metabolic pathway in normal human blood neutrophils stimulated with f-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP) or monosodium urate monohydrate (MSUM) in the presence of autologous platelets. Platelets inhibited by more than 90% the synthesis of leukotriene B(4) and 5-HETE in neutrophils activated with fMLP or MSUM. The addition of exogenous arachidonic acid did not reverse the inhibitory effect of platelets on 5-LOX-generated metabolites in fMLP- or MSUM-activated neutrophils. Preincubation of neutrophils with adenosine deaminase reversed the inhibitory effect of platelets in fMLP-treated neutrophils, indicating that adenosine was responsible for the platelet inhibition of leukotriene B(4) and 5-HETE formation. In contrast, adenosine deaminase had no influence on the inhibitory effects of platelets in MSUM-stimulated cells. These results suggest that platelets can inhibit the synthesis of 5-LOX products (a). by acting mainly downstream to phospholipase A(2) in cells stimulated by fMLP or MSUM, (b). through adenosine when neutrophils are activated with fMLP, and (c). by an adenosine-independent mechanism in MSUM-activated neutrophils by an as-yet-unidentified mediator.