@Article{,
AUTHOR = {Nachum Vaisman, Yahalomit Zaruk, Idit Shirazi, Nechemia Kaysar, Vivian Barak},
TITLE = {The effect of fish oil supplementation on cytokine production in children},
JOURNAL = {European Cytokine Network},
VOLUME = {16},
YEAR = {2005},
NUMBER = {3},
PAGES = {194--198},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/ECN/v16n3/66213},
ISSN = {1952-4005},
ABSTRACT = {The <i>ex vivo</i> production of inflammatory cytokines during fish oil supplementation (n-3 polyunsaturated
fatty acids, n-3 PUFA) is a matter of considerable controversy. Studies on human subjects have generally
reported decreased lymphocyte proliferation and decreased production of IL-2, interferon-γ, IL-1β, IL-6 and
TNF-α, but other studies showed no effect or even increased production. There are no published reports on <i>ex vivo</i>
cytokine production in children on long-term, n-3 PUFA supplementation. The current double-blind study
explored cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), with and without lipopolysaccharide
(LPS) stimulation in children on 12 weeks’ supplementation with 300 mg/day of n-3 PUFA. Twenty-one
children (aged 8-12 years) were randomized to receive 1 g canola oil (control) or 300 mg n-3 PUFA + 700 mg
canola oil in a chocolate spread. Blood was then drawn and PBMCs were separated and cultured for 24 h in a
culture medium with or without 10 lg/mL LPS for 5 x 106 PBMCs. The pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-1β, TNF-α
and IL-6, and the anti-inflammatory cytokines, IL-10 and IL-1RA, were evaluated by ELISA. The levels of all the
cytokines were higher in non-stimulated and LPS-stimulated cultures, from n-3 PUFA-treated subjects as
compared to controls. There was no difference in the IL-1b/IL-1RA ratio between the two groups, with and
without LPS stimulation. Nevertheless, the ratio tended to be lower in the treated subjects on both occasions. In
conclusion, our results indicate an increased production of both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory
cytokines, with and without LPS stimulation, in children on 12 weeks’ n-3 PUFA supplementation.},
DOI = {}
}