Fish oil and immune function
Fish oil contains some unusual types of fats – the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA),
which for many years have been suggested to be useful in the therapy of inflammatory
diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis arise because
the immune system begins to attack normal body tissues and becomes over-inflammatory.
The beneficial effects of fish oil in these conditions suggest that the n-3 PUFA in fish oil may
be able to suppress the immune system. The n-3 PUFA particularly affect the activation of T
lymphocytes, which are a type of white blood cell normally involved in fighting infections,
but are also involved in inflammatory disease. However, it is not clear how n-3 PUFA
suppress immune responses. We are currently studying the mechanisms by which n-3 PUFA
suppress immune responses and evaluating their potential use as therapeutic agents in
inflammatory diseases.