Fatty acids and immune function: relevance to inflammatory bowel diseases

Fatty acids may influence immune function through a variety of mechanisms; manyof these are associated with changes in fatty acid composition of immune cell membranes.Eicosanoids produced from arachidonic acid have roles in inflammationand immunity. Increased membrane content of n-3 fatty acids results in a changedpattern of production of eicosanoids, resolvins, and cytokines. Changing the fattyacid composition of immune cells also affects T cell reactivity and antigen presentation.Little attention has been paid to the influence of fatty acids on the gutassociatedlymphoid tissue. However, there has been considerable interest in fatty acids and gut inflammatio