EFFECT OF DIETARY N-3 FATTY-ACIDS ON INTERLEUKIN-2 AND INTERLEUKIN-2 RECEPTOR-ALPHA EXPRESSION IN ACTIVATED MURINE LYMPHOCYTES

Dietary eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) sup press interleukin-2 (IL-2) secretion and impair T-lymphocyte prolifera tion. To determine the mechanism of action, mice were fed diets contai ning either safflower oil (control diet enriched in linoleic acid, 18: 2n-6), EPA, DHA or arachidonic acid (20:4n-6). Splenic lymphocytes wer e isolated and concanavalin A-induced kinetics of IL-2 and IL-2 recept or ex mRNA expression were determined by relative competitive-PCR. EPA and DHA did not affect IL-2 mRNA expression but suppressed IL-2 recep tor a mRNA levels. These data show, for the first time, the selective effects of dietary EPA and DHA on T-lymphocyte gene expression.