45I-20 |
Omega-3 fatty acids modulate osteoblast activity |
H. E. LIPPMAN and B. A. Watkins. Dept. of Food Science, Purdue Univ., Center for Enhancing Foods to Protect Health, 745 Agriculture Mall Dr., West Lafayette, IN 47907-2009 Prostaglandin E2 functions as a paracrine and autocrine factor during inflammation. In the bone microenvironment, inflammatory events are associated with bone loss linked to diseases such as cancer metastasis and osteoporosis. Osteoblasts, cells responsible for bone formation, orchestrate signaling traffic during bone metabolism. As such, regulating osteoblastic production of PGE2 has been identified as a key therapeutic intervention point in treating diseases leading to loss of bone mass. Currently, pharmacological agents are the chief method of intervention, however, they are highly scrutinized due to their side effects. We have established in rats that diets with an increased ratio of n-3:n-6 fatty acids confer a positive response on bone formation. Our objective for this research was to investigate if the positive association between n-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) and bone formation in rats is due to an influence on osteoblast activity via decreasing PGE2 production. The MC3T3-E1 osteoblast-like cell line was exposed to fatty acids and treated with agents that induce PGE2 production. Immunoblotting, RT-PCR, ELISA, and enzyme activity assays were used to gauge expression of genes critical to PGE2 production and osteoblastic bone forming activity, and to measure proteins important to skeletal health. Our results demonstrated that EPA increased osteoblastic bone formation activity and decreased PGE2 production. Interestingly, DHA also decreased PGE2 but the magnitude of change on bone biomarkers was not equal to EPA suggesting a more direct effect for EPA in lowering prostanoids. These results suggest that n-3 fatty acids, especially EPA, may benefit bone formation through modulating PGE2 production and affecting osteoblast activity. Therefore, n-3 fatty acids could be useful in treating diseases which lead to a loss of bone mass and offer a safer, and more economical, method of intervention than pharmaceutical agents.
Session 45I, Nutrition: General
|