Fish oil asthma benefits may be blocked by medication

10-Feb-2017 - Last updated on 10-Feb-2017 at 14:08 GMT

Asthma appears to be an allergic reaction to substances commonly breathed in through the air, such as animal dander, pollen, or dust mite and cockroach waste products. Some people have a genetic predisposition to react to certain allergens.©iStock

Omega-3 fatty acids could reduce the production of antibodies that cause allergic reactions and asthma symptoms. But the possible benefits are reduced by asthma medication, say researchers.

Using cell cultures from asthma patients, the team found that omega-3 fatty acids could reduce numbers of the IgE antibodies produced as a response to chronic airway inflammation.

However, corticosteroids used to treat severe asthma were found to block the oil’s effectiveness by interfering with cell signalling molecules that oversee the inflammatory process known as specialised proresolving mediators (SPMs).

Once ingested, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) convert to certain SPMs that halt inflammation without suppressing the immune system, said the team.

“Our results suggest that SPMs are important potential therapeutics for most patients with allergic asthma,” the authors stated.

“Further, our results highlight that immunosuppressive therapies like oral corticosteroids (OCS) also suppress endogenous resolution pathways and suggest one method by which OCS may actually exacerbate allergic diseases.”

Commercial SPM interest

Speaking to NutraIngredients last year, Adam Ismail, GOED’s Executive Director predicted a growing interest in SPM products as a more convenient form of omega-3s for consumers to take.

“I think lipid mediator products are going to be big,” he said. “These will be huge in pharma, but also in nutrition.

“These mediators are resolvins and protectins, which are biological derivatives of EPA and DHA that have potent anti-inflammatory and cell protection properties.”

“SPM supplementation represents a more targeted nutritional approach to support the resolution of the immune response,” added Dr John Troup, Chief Science Officer at Metagenics.

“If an individual is unable to produce desirable levels of SPMs–due to lifestyle behaviour, dietary choices, or health status–in response to an immune challenge, the resolution of the immune response can be impacted.

Fish oils and inflammation

fish oil dha epa omega 3 iStock.com Magone — Omega-3 fish oils can be found in foods such as flax seed oil, salmon, tuna, anchovies, and walnuts. ©iStock/Magone

The findings in this study relate closely to a New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) study reported earlier this year. Results from this research found that prenatal exposure to fish oil reduced the risk of wheeze and asthma in children.

Dr Richard Phipps, professor of Environmental Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center commented that the fish oil used as a dietary supplement in the NEJM study was a special high-quality preparation--and that consumers should practice caution when purchasing fish oil because they're not all the same.

“You really need high-quality, standardised material that's been processed and stored correctly before comparing results from one study to another study," he said.

"Our study used the pure, biologically active products in fish oil, known as 17-HDHA, and we've provided a clear line of evidence for why intake of high-quality fish oil is good."

Led by Dr Phipps, the team began by collecting blood from 17 subjects, isolating their B immune cells.

These cells were then subject to procedures that looked at the impact of pure omega-3-derived products on IgE and other molecules that fuel the disease. Here, findings were compared to that of healthy blood cells.

The majority of subjects enrolled in this study were taking corticosteroids in either pill form or by inhaler, depending upon severity of their asthma.

Results showed that all responded to the omega-3 fatty acids to some degree, as demonstrated by a reduction in the levels of IgE antibodies.

But an unexpected result found cells from a small group of subjects who were taking oral steroids, who exhibited less sensitivity to the omega-3 treatment.

Along with the NEJM study the use of fish oil has been shown to play an active role in mediating the anti-inflammatory response.

Additionally, there is a growing body of evidence that immunosuppressive treatments like corticosteroids also suppress resolution mechanisms.

Source: JCI Insight
Published online ahead of print: DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.88588
“Corticosteroids inhibit anti-IgE activities of specialized proresolving mediators on B cells from asthma patients”
Authors: Richard Phipps et al.