Effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on cellular phenotypes and molecular mechanisms.

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Fatty acids (FA) are food components traditionally thought to represent intermediary metabolites involved in energy production and storage in several living organisms. They are also important components of cell membranes. It has now become very clear that they can influence cell function through a variety of mechanisms. Several research groups including ours have reported that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) supplementation using fish oil capsules have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health and substantially alter gene expression in various human tissues. As n-3 PUFAs are obtained through diet or as purified extracts in capsules for supplementation, it is difficult to study the independent effect of each n-3 PUFAs and to elucidate their tissue- and cell-specific effects. Our research program aims to build knowledge on the mechanism of action of lipid mediators through the development of a platform to assess cellular phenotypes and molecular mechanisms influenced by FAs, and particularly of n-3 PUFAs from vegetal (alpha linolenic acid (ALA)) and marine (eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA)) sources.