Abstract
Objective—To determine the effects of pretreatment with α-linolenic acid, an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, on equine synovial explants challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS).
Animals—8 mature mixed-breed horses (4 mares and 4 geldings).
Procedure—Synovial explants were assigned to receive 1 of 7 concentrations of α-linolenic acid, ranging from 0 to 300 µg/mL. At each concentration, half of the explants were controls and half were challenged with 0.003 µg of LPS as a model of synovial inflammation. Cell inflammatory response was evaluated by measurement of prostaglandin E2 production via an ELISA. Synovial cell viability, function, histomorphologic characteristics, and cell membrane composition were evaluated by use of trypan blue dye exclusion, hexuronic acid assay for hyaluronic acid, objective microscopic scoring, and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively.
Results—Challenge with LPS significantly increased production of prostaglandin E2 and decreased production of hyaluronic acid. Treatment with α-linolenic acid at the highest dose inhibited prostaglandin E2 production. Cell viability and histomorphologic characteristics were not altered by treatment with α-linolenic acid or LPS challenge. Treatment with α-linolenic acid increased the percentage of this fatty acid in the explant cell membranes.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results suggest that investigation of α-linolenic acid as an anti-inflammatory medication for equine synovitis is warranted. (Am J Vet Res 2005;66:1503–1508)
