Effect of Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation on Inflammatory Cytokine Levels in Infants at High Genetic Risk for Type 1 Diabetes
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2015
Keywords
breast milk DHA, cytokines, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), red blood cell DHA, type 1 diabetes
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1111/pedi.12170
Abstract
Objective: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from the inflammatory destruction of pancreatic β-cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation on stimulated inflammatory cytokine production in white blood cells (WBC) from infants with a high genetic risk for T1D.
Research design and methods: This was a multicenter, two-arm, randomized, double-blind pilot trial of DHA supplementation, beginning either in the last trimester of pregnancy (41 infants) or in the first 5 months after birth (57 infants). Levels of DHA in infant and maternal red blood cell (RBC) membranes and in breast milk were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Inflammatory cytokines were assayed from whole blood culture supernatants using the Luminex multiplex assay after stimulation with high dose lipopolysaccharide (LPS), 1 µg/mL.
Results: The levels of RBC DHA were increased by 61–100% in treated compared to control infants at ages 6–36 months. There were no statistically significant reductions in production of the inflammatory cytokines, IL-1β, TNFα, or IL-12p40 at any of the six timepoints measured. The inflammatory marker, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), was significantly lower in breast-fed DHA-treated infants compared to all formula-fed infants at the age of 12 months. Three infants (two received DHA) were removed from the study as a result of developing ≥two persistently positive biochemical islet autoantibodies.
Conclusions: This pilot trial showed that supplementation of infant diets with DHA is safe and fulfilled the pre-study goal of increasing infant RBC DHA levels by at least 20%. Inflammatory cytokine production was not consistently reduced.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Pediatric Diabetes, v. 16, issue 4, p. 271-279
Scholar Commons Citation
Chase, H Peter; Boulware, David; Rodriguez, Henry; Donaldson, David; Chritton, Sonia; Rafkin-Mervis, Lisa; Krischer, Jeffrey; Skyler, Jay S.; and Clare-Salzler, Michael, "Effect of Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation on Inflammatory Cytokine Levels in Infants at High Genetic Risk for Type 1 Diabetes" (2015). Pediatrics Faculty Publications. 51.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ped_facpub/51
