Cancer & Inflammation & Omega-3 Baste on 31 Mar 2008 05:54 am
Fish Oil Fatty Acids Help the Cell to Coordinate Its Responses
Source: Chemistry & Physics of Lipids, 4 March 2008 [Epub]
Article Type: Review
Authors: Chapkin RS et al.
Cells, particularly those of the gastrointestinal tract, are exposed to a - often rapidly - changing environment. In their present review, Robert Chapkin and colleagues summarize how docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and related fatty acids might help to maintain cell health in the colon:
“…we present data demonstrating that DHA selectively modulates the subcellular localization of lipidated signaling proteins depending on their transport pathway, which may be universally applied to other lipidated protein trafficking. An interesting possibility raised by the current observations is that lipidated proteins may exhibit different subcellular distribution profiles in various tissues, which contain a distinct membrane lipid composition. In addition, the current findings clearly indicate that subcellular localization of proteins with a certain trafficking pathway can be subjected to selective regulation by dietary manipulation. This form of regulated plasma membrane targeting of a select subset of upstream signaling proteins may provide cells with the flexibility to coordinate the arrangement of signaling translators on the cell surface. Ultimately, this may allow organ systems such as the colon to optimally decode, respond, and adapt to the vagaries of an ever-changing extracellular environment.”
Also noteworthy:
“Recently, the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) has approved the use of a health claim on labels for foods containing DHA. As part of an ongoing commitment to provide consumers with innovative-healthy products, food companies are now scrambling to incorporate omega-3 fatty acids into a range of novel commercial foods in order to provide for the wider public consumption of DHA. It is both appropriate and timely, therefore, to precisely determine how DHA modulates cell signaling networks and reduces the risk of developing colon cancer and intestinal inflammatory disorders.”