MODULATION OF ENDOTHELIAL CELL ACTIVATION BY OMEGA-6 AND OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS

Endothelial activation is considered to be an early and critical event in the pathology of atherogenesis which can be modified by environmental factors such as diet, pollutants, and lifestyle habits. Dietary ω-6 and ω-3 fatty acids have been reported to either amplify or diminish inflammatory responses related to atherosclerosis development. However, the interactions of ω-6 and ω-3 fatty acids with inflammatory cytokines or organic pollutants on endothelial cell activation are not well understood. The studies presented in this dissertation tested the hypothesis that ω-6 and ω-3 fatty acids alone, or in varying ratios can differently modulate pro-atherogenic mediators and inflammatory responses that are initiated by tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF-α) or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in endothelial cells. Exposure to TNF-α induced oxidative stress, p38 MAPK, NF-κB, COX-2 and PGE2, which was amplified by pre-enrichment with linolei