Author: Herr Dr. Amoneit
Last saved by: Saritas, Sevim (Euro Fed Lipid)

Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation-induced Changes in Plasma Ratio between Arachidonic and Docosahexaenoic Acids are Mirroring in the Airways of Adults with Cystic Fibrosis
Sala A^1, Teopompi E^1, Aiello M^1, Pisi R^1, Mangano P^2, Pisi G^3, Longo F^3, Risè P^2, Tripodi C^3, Fainardi V^3, Clini E^4, Chetta A^1, ^1University of Milan, Milano, Italy; ^2University Hospital, Parma, Italy; ^3Children Hospital, University of Parma, Parma, Italy, and ^4University of Modena-Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

In patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), a significant reduction in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has been reported. In this study, we assessed the levels of arachidonic acid (AA) and DHA metabolites in sputum of CF subjects, as well as their changes after ten weeks of DHA supplementation. We studied 15 CF subjects (age range 20 to 40) and 10 COPD patients (age range 45 to 70). At baseline all subjects performed nutritional status evaluation, Shwachman-Kulczycki score evaluation, spirometry, sputum induction to evaluate leukotriene B4 (LTB4), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE), 17-hydroxydocosahexaenoic acid (17OH-DHA), 15-HETE/17OH-DHA ratio, and blood sample to evaluate DHA/AA ratio and HUFA index. CF patients repeated all evaluations after ten weeks with DHA-supplementation and after ten weeks without DHA-supplementation. As compared to COPD patients, CF subjects showed increased concentrations of LTB4 (p < 0.0001), PGE2 (p < 0.0001), 15-HETE (p < 0.0001), while the concentrations of the DHA metabolites were not different in the two groups (p = 0.8583). After DHA supplementation, CF subjects showed a tendency to decrease in LTB4 and PGE2 concentrations, while an increase in 17OH-DHA, and a significantly reduction in levels of 15-HETE (p = 0.0137) was also observed. At the end of the washout period, LTB4, PGE2, 15-HETE, and 17OH-DHA tended to recover baseline values. In blood samples after DHA supplementation, DHA/AA ratio and HUFA index were significantly increased (p < 0.05). As compared to baseline, 15-HETE/17OH-DHA ratio resulted significantly decreased  after supplementation (p < 0.01). Our preliminary results showed that in adult CF patients the impairment in fatty acid profile, resulting in an unbalance between AA and DHA metabolites, was partially corrected by DHA supplementation.

We aknowledge partial support by the Fondazione per la Ricerca sulla Fibrosi Cistica