"Fish oil may have immune enhancing properties that could benefit immunocompromised individuals," said Jenifer Fenton, Ph.D., M.P.H., a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.
To make this discovery, researchers used two groups of mice. One group was fed a control diet, and the other was fed a diet supplemented with DHA-rich fish oil for five weeks. B cells were harvested from several tissues and then stimulated in culture. Researchers then looked for markers of B cell activation on the cell surface, B cell membrane changes, and B cell cytokine production. They found that DHA-enriched fish oil enhanced B cell activation and select antibody production, which may actually aid immune responses associated with pathogen clearance, while possibly dampening the totality of the inflammatory response.
"This work confirms similar findings on fish oil and B cells from our lab, and moves us one step closer to understanding the immune enhancing properties of EPA and DHA," said S. Raza Shaikh, Ph.D., a researcher also involved in the work from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at East Carolina University.
Journal Reference:
- E. A. Gurzell, H. Teague, M. Harris, J. Clinthorne, S. R. Shaikh, J. I. Fenton. DHA-enriched fish oil targets B cell lipid microdomains and enhances ex vivo and in vivo B cell function. Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 2012; 93 (4): 463 DOI: 10.1189/jlb.0812394
File Under No Sh*t, Sherlock. In my occupation, I've witnessed physicians "come around" on:
- Vitamin C;
- Glucosamine/Chondroitin;
- Fish Oil;
- Niacin.,
-Garlic
- Red Wine; et alia.
At least it shows they still have a soul which is trying to escape its programming.
R.C.