Abstract
Purpose :
Allergic conjunctivitis is one of the most common ocular surface diseases. Previous studies showed that omega-3 fatty acids have anti-allergic and pro-resolving properties. It is unknown, however, whether omega-3 fatty acids have any protective and/or therapeutic effects on allergic conjunctivitis. Thus, we evaluated the effect of feeding of omega-3 fatty acids using a mouse model of allergic conjunctivitis.
Methods :
BALB/c female mice were fed either an omega-6 rich diet (control) or an omega-3 rich diet for one month before the first sensitization. The mice were sensitized twice using Ragweed pollen (RW) and challenged by eye-drops containing RW. Clinical score, scratching behavior and eosinophil infiltration into the conjunctiva were evaluated. Levels of serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) and mRNA levels of Th2 cytokines and chemokines in the conjunctival tissues were quantified. Eicosanoid profiling in the conjunctiva was performed using HPLC-ESI/MS/MS. mRNA levels of eicosanoid biosynthetic enzymes were measured by RT-PCR.
Results :
Omega-3 fed mice showed a lower clinical score, a reduced frequency of scratching behavior, and a decrease in the number of infiltrated eosinophils in the conjunctiva. The expression of Il4, Il13, Ccl5 and Ccl11 and total serum IgE levels were similar between omega-3 diet and omega-6 diet groups. The production of inflammatory eicosanoids such as prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), PGE2, PGF2a, and leukotriene B4 was decreased in the conjunctiva of omega-3 fed mice, whereas mRNA levels of eicosanoid biosynthetic enzymes were not significantly different in both groups.
Conclusions :
Dietary omega-3 fatty acids alleviated allergic conjunctivitis in mice not by affecting Th2 immune response but by regulating eicosanoid production. Our data suggest that supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids might be an effective remedy for allergic conjunctivitis.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.