Programming Macrophage Inflammation Resolution: The Role of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

It was previously thought that resolution of inflammation was a passive process, but recent emerging research has identified that resolution is an active process and that dual acting lipid mediators derived from essential omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have both anti-inflammatory (reducing neutrophil access to the inflamed tissue) and pro-resolving (removal of apoptotic cells by macrophages in the inflamed site) actions. The objective of our study was to determine the role of omega-3 PUFAs in programming phenotypic changes in treated macrophages. The polarization of macrophages during inflammatory responses to functionally distinct phenotypes may play a role in both inflammation and resolution of inflammation following treatment with omega-3 PUFAs for chronic inflammatory diseases