Identification of specialized pro-resolving mediator clusters from healthy adults after intravenous low-dose endotoxin and omega-3 supplementation: a methodological validation.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Randomized controlled crossover trial in humans
PubMed 30575798 · doi:10.1038/s41598-018-36679-4
What was done
Healthy adults participated in two randomized protocols (Study A and Study B; Study B included a crossover design with placebo and endotoxin challenge) to assess omega-3 supplementation (triglyceride dietary supplements or prescription ethyl esters) before an intravenous low-dose lipopolysaccharide challenge. Specialized pro-resolving mediator (SPM) clusters and pro-inflammatory eicosanoids in plasma and serum were quantified via LC-MS/MS metabololipidomics across two separate laboratories using coded samples for inter-laboratory validation.
What was found
The abstract reports no exact numerical concentrations, effect sizes, variance measures, or participant counts. The qualitative reported findings are: - Human plasma SPM clusters included RvE1, RvD1, LXB4, 18-HEPE, and 17-HDHA; serum clusters included RvE1, RvD1, AT-LXA4, 18-HEPE, and 17-HDHA. - After endotoxin challenge without omega-3, serum pro-inflammatory eicosanoids (prostaglandins and thromboxane) peaked by 8 hours, while SPMs decreased by 2 hours and rose at 24 hours. - In subjects given omega-3 supplementation, plasma SPM cluster concentrations peaked earlier, at 2 hours post-endotoxin challenge. - Findings were corroborated across both independent laboratories analyzing identical coded samples.
Why it matters
This methodological validation demonstrates that specialized pro-resolving mediators can be reliably measured across separate laboratories and indicates that omega-3 supplementation accelerates the temporal release of pro-resolving lipid mediators during acute inflammatory challenges in humans.
Limits
The abstract omits sample size, participant demographics, baseline parameters, exact mediator concentrations, and statistical significance values. The acute experimental endotoxin challenge in healthy volunteers may not generalize to chronic clinical inflammatory diseases.
Cited by
- context Injecting healthy individuals with postprandial levels of LPS increases inflammatory biomarkers, depressive symptoms, and social withdrawal, but prior supplementation with omega-3 prevents these depressive symptoms and blunts the inflammatory response.