RESUMEN
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are known to suppress inflammatory and autoimmune responses and, therefore, clinical applications of PUFAs as immunomodulatory substances are extensively studied. PUFAs are known to inhibit T cell responses, but with respect to TCR/CD3-mediated signal transduction only a block in CD3-induced phospholipase Cgamma1/calcium signaling has been shown so far. In this study, we investigated PUFA-mediated changes in downstream T cell signal transduction. We show that among the mitogen-activated protein kinase families activation of c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase, but not phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1/-2 or p38 is inhibited. CD3/CD28-induced activity of NF-AT was markedly reduced by PUFA treatment, while activation of other nuclear receptors (AP-1 and NF-kappaB) remained unaltered. Furthermore, IL-2 promoter activity, IL-2 and IL-13 mRNA levels, IL-2 secretion, and IL-2R alpha-chain expression were significantly diminished by PUFA treatment, whereas the expression of IFN-gamma, IL-4, IL-10, and CD69 remained essentially unaffected by PUFAs. In conclusion, PUFA treatment of T cells inhibits selectively c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase and NF-AT activation, resulting in diminished production of IL-2 and IL-13.