Effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on the cytoskeleton

an open-label intervention study

authored by

Simone Schmidt, Janina Willers, Sabine Riecker, Katharina Möller, Jan Philipp Schuchardt, Andreas Hahn

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) show beneficial effects on cardiovascular health and cognitive functions, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are not completely understood. Because of the fact that cytoskeleton dynamics affect almost every cellular process, the regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics could be a new pathway by which n-3 PUFAs exert their effects on cellular level.

METHODS: A 12-week open-label intervention study with 12 healthy men was conducted to determine the effects of 2.7 g/d n-3 PUFA on changes in mRNA expression of cytoskeleton-associated genes by quantitative real-time PCR in whole blood. Furthermore, the actin content in red blood cells was analyzed by immunofluorescence imaging.

RESULTS: N-3 PUFA supplementation resulted in a significant down-regulation of cytoskeleton-associated genes, in particular three GTPases (RAC1, RHOA, CDC42), three kinases (ROCK1, PAK2, LIMK), two Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome proteins (WASL, WASF2) as well as actin related protein 2/3 complex (ARPC2, ARPC3) and cofilin (CFL1). Variability in F-actin content between subjects was high; reduced actin content was only reduced within group evaluation.

CONCLUSIONS: Reduced cytoskeleton-associated gene expression after n-3 PUFA supplementation suggests that regulation of cytoskeleton dynamics might be an additional way by which n-3 PUFAs exert their cellular effects. Concerning F-actin, this analysis did not reveal unmistakable results impeding a generalized conclusion.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition
Nutrition Physiology and Human Nutrition Section

Type

Article

Journal

Lipids in health and disease

Volume

No. of pages

ISSN

1476-511X

Publication date

14.02.2015

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Biochemistry, medical, Endocrinology, Clinical Biochemistry, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-511X-14-4 (Access: Open)