Fish oil and argan oil intake differently modulate insulin resistance and glucose intolerance in a rat model of dietary-induced obesity.

We investigated the potential metabolic benefits of fish oil (FO) or vegetable argan oil (AO) intake in a dietary model of obesity-linked insulin resistance. Rats were fed a standard chow diet (controls), a high-fat/high-sucrose (HFHS) diet, or an HFHS diet in which 6% of the fat was replaced by either FO or AO feeding, respectively. The HFHS diet increased adipose tissue weight and insulin resistance as revealed by increased fasting glucose and exaggerated glycemic and insulin responses to a glucose tolerance test (intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test). Fish oil feeding prevented fat accretion, reduced fasting glycemia, and normalized glycemic or insulin responses to intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test as compared with HFHS diet. Unlike FO consumption, AO intake failed to prevent obesity, yet restored fasting glycemia back to chow-fed control values. Insulin-induced phosphorylation of Akt and Erk in adipose tissues, skeletal muscles, and liver was greatly attenuated in HFHS rats as compared with chow-fed controls. High-fat/high-sucrose diet-induced insulin resistance was also confirmed in isolated hepatocytes. Fish oil intake prevented insulin resistance by improving or fully restoring insulin signaling responses in all tissues and isolated hepatocytes. Argan oil intake also improved insulin-dependent phosphorylations of Akt and Erk; and in adipose tissue, these responses were increased even beyond values observed in chow-fed controls. Taken together, these results strongly support the beneficial action of FO on diet-induced insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, an effect likely explained by the ability of FO to prevent HFHS-induced adiposity. Our data also show for the first time that AO can improve some of the metabolic and insulin signaling abnormalities associated with HFHS feeding.

Benefits and side effects of different vegetable oil vectors on apoptosis, oxidative stress, and P2X7 cell death receptor activation.

PURPOSE: Ocular side effects in patients using eye drops may be due to intolerance to the vector used in eye drops. Castor oil is the commonly used lipophilic vector but has been shown to be cytotoxic. Effects on cells of four oils (olive, camelina, Aleurites moluccana, maize) were compared with those of castor oil in human conjunctival cells. METHODS: Human conjunctival cells were incubated with the oils for 15 minutes. After a 24-hour recovery period, cells were tested for viability, proliferation, apoptosis (P2X7 cell death receptor and caspase 3 activation), intracellular redox potential, and reactive oxygen species production. Fatty acid incorporation in cell membranes was also analyzed. In vivo ocular irritation was assessed using the Draize test. RESULTS: Compared to the four other oils, castor oil was shown to induce significant necrosis and P2X7 cell death receptor and caspase 3 activation and to enhance intracellular reactive oxygen species production. Aleurites moluccana and camelina oils were not cytotoxic and increased cell membrane omega-3 fatty acid content. None of the five tested oils showed any in vivo ocular irritation. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated that castor oil exerts cytotoxic effects on conjunctival cells. This cytotoxicity could explain the side effects observed in some patients using eye drops containing castor oil as a vehicle. The lack of cytotoxic effects observed with the four other oils, Aleurites, camelina, maize, and olive, suggest that they could be chosen to replace castor oil in ophthalmic formulations.

Fatty acid-induced changes in vascular reactivity in healthy adult rats.

Dietary fatty acids (FAs) are known to modulate endothelial dysfunction, which is the first stage of atherosclerosis. However, their exact role in this initial phase is still unclear. The effects of isolated or combined (by 2) purified FAs from the main FA families were studied on the vascular response of isolated thoracic aorta in healthy rats to get a better understanding of the mechanisms of action of dietary FAs in regulating vascular endothelial function. Cumulative contraction curves to phenylephrine and relaxation curves to carbachol and then to sodium nitroprusside were obtained in the absence or presence of the FAs studied allowing endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent ability of the smooth muscle to relax to be assessed in each experimental group. The endothelium-dependent vasodilator response to carbachol was lowered by eicosapentaenoic acid, whereas it was not altered either by docosahexaenoic acid alone or by combined eicosapentaenoic acid-docosahexaenoic acid, oleic acid, or stearic acid, and it was increased by linoleic acid (LA). A decreased phenylephrine-induced contraction was observed after incubation with arachidonic acid and with stearic acid. On the other hand, the endothelium-dependent relaxation was reduced by the addition of combined LA-arachidonic acid and LA-oleic acid. In conclusion, these data point out the differential effects of different types of FAs and of FAs alone vs combined on vascular reactivity. The complex nature of these effects could be partially linked to metabolic specificities of endothelial cells and to interactions between some FAs.

Redox modulation of insulin signaling and endothelial function.

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) recently emerged as critical signaling molecules in cardiovascular research. Several studies over the past decade have shown that physiological effects of vasoactive factors are mediated by these reactive species and, conversely, that altered redox mechanisms are implicated in the occurrence of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Oxidant stress occurs when ROS and/or RNS production exceeds the cell natural antioxidant systems, and pathological events ensue. Cardiovascular risk factors are associated with an imbalance of the redox equilibrium toward oxidative stress, leading to endothelial activation and proinflammatory processes implicated in atherogenesis and metabolic disorders. Recent studies indicate that insulin and insulin-sensitizing drugs activate antiinflammatory pathways that may limit oxidant stress in insulin target tissues. The main goal of this brief review is to discuss recent progress in the field of cellular redox signaling as it pertains to insulin modulation of vascular endothelial function in cardiovascular diseases.

Mechanisms of action of dietary fatty acids in regulating the activation of vascular endothelial cells during atherogenesis.

Dietary long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids from fish oil appear to be clearly efficient in regulating endothelial dysfunction (or activation), which is the first stage of atherogenesis. Studies on endothelial cells in vitro have shown that the main dietary PUFA and oleic acid may prevent endothelium activation either by inhibiting the expression of adhesion molecules or by improving the nitric oxide production. Saturated fatty acids and also linoleic acid do not inhibit endothelium activation. The mechanisms involved in this inhibition could be related to endothelial cell membrane characteristics or redox status. However, these findings need to be confirmed in vivo.