Table 3 Basic research on the use of Omega-3 fatty acids for treating spinal cord injury-related complications
From: Progress on Omega-3 fatty acids for the comprehensive and targeted treatment of spinal cord injury
Complication type | Strategy | Administration | Model | Effect | Mechanism | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Neuropathic pain | Omega-3 fatty acid enriched diet | Preventive 8w Omega-3 fatty acid–enriched diet | Rat T10 contusion model | Attenuation of thermal hyperalgesia at 4 wpi | i)Accumulation of new NAE precursors ii)Decreasing sprouting of CGRP nociceptive fibers | |
Neuropathic pain | Resolvin E1 | Intrathecal injection 100 ng daily for 3 d pre- or post-SCI | L5 spinal nerve ligation model | Partially preventing the development of mechanical allodynia | i)Downregulation of Iba-1 ii)Blocking the release of Tnf-α of microglia | |
Neuropathic pain | 2.3 g/kg and 4.6 g/kg of EPA 1.9 g/kg and 3.8 g/kg of DHA | Daily oral administration for 10 d after injury | Partial sciatic nerve ligation model | Preventing mechanical and thermal sensitization | i)Reducing Tnf-α level in spinal cord ii)Reducing ATF-3 expression in DRG cells | |
Neuropathic pain | 0.36 g/kg and 0.72 g/kg Omega-3 fatty acids | Daily oral administration for 21 d after injury | Partial sciatic nerve ligation model | Reversing thermal hyperalgesia and reducing mechanical allodynia without neuroma formation | Restoring axonal density and morphology | |
Neuropathic pain | Fat-1 Transgenic moue | Preventative gene therapy | Formalin injection-induced inflammatory pain model | Attenuating pain sensitivity | i)Inhibiting microglial activation ii)Attenuating inducible nitric oxide synthase expression | |
Neuropathic pain | 1 mg/kg EPA | Intravenous or intrathecal injection after injury | Chemotherapy- and inflammation-induced neuropathic pain model | Attenuating neuropathic and inflammatory pain | Inhibiting VNUT-mediated ATP uptake | |
Neuropathic pain | 100, 250 or 500 nmol/kg DHA | Intravenous injection of DHA 30 min after median nerve injury | Median nerve chronic constriction injury model | Modulating development of behavioral hypersensitivity | i)Decreasing p-JNK and OX-42 levels ii)Diminishing the release of proinflammatory cytokines | |
Osteoporosis | Mimic DHA-enriched diets in vitro | 20 μmol/L DHA cell culture environment | In vitro model of MSC differentiation into osteoblasts | Enhancing the osteogenic differentiation potential of MSCs | i)Remodeling lipidomic ii)Enhancing Akt activation in plasma membrane | |
Obesity | 36 g/kg EPA | High saturated-fat diet for 6 weeks, followed by high saturated-fat EPA reversal for 5 weeks | High saturated-fat diet-induced obesity | Prevent and improve insulin resistance induced by High saturated-fat diet | i)Reducing adipose inflammation ii)Elevating markers of fatty acid oxidation |
