Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How fatty acids affect immune cells in healthy and itchy dogs
By Stehle, Melanie E et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2010·Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, Germany·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids on isolated canine peripheral blood mononuclear cells and cytokine expression (IL-4, IFN-gamma, TGF-beta) in healthy and atopic dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at how polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) might help dogs with atopic dermatitis, a skin condition that causes itching and inflammation. Researchers tested blood cells from both healthy dogs and those with atopic dermatitis to see how PUFAs affected their immune response. While PUFAs seemed to influence the growth of certain immune cells, they did not change the levels of specific immune signals related to inflammation. This suggests that while PUFAs might have some benefits for dogs with skin issues, they don't directly alter the immune response in the way previously thought.
People also search for: dog atopic dermatitis treatment · polyunsaturated fatty acids for dogs · how to help dog skin allergies
Abstract
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have been used to treat dogs with atopic dermatitis but the mechanism of action has not been well understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro influence of PUFA on canine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). PBMC isolated from eleven dogs with atopic dermatitis and eleven healthy control dogs were stimulated with concanavalin A and Dermatophagoides farinae extract in the presence of linoleic acid (LA), gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)/docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and GLA/EPA/DHA. Subsequently, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for interferon (IFN)-gamma, interleukin (IL)-4 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta m-RNA was performed. In the presence of concanavalin A, only PBMC of healthy dogs showed a gradual reduction in proliferation index from incubation without PUFA to incubation with ALA, EPA/DHA and GLA/EPA/DHA, respectively. A similar reduction was seen in normal and in atopic dogs in the presence of D. farinae allergen after incubation with ALA, EPA/DHA and GLA/EPA/DHA. In both groups IL-4 and IFN-gamma but not TGF-beta gene transcription was upregulated, when cells were incubated with D. farinae. Allergen-induced upregulation was not influenced by incubation with PUFA. These findings suggest that PUFA are able to influence proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in healthy and atopic dogs but do not seem to influence gene transcription of IL-4, IFN-gamma and TGF-beta.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20187917/