N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids May Affect the Course of COVID-19

Overview

Journal Front Immunol

Specialty Allergy & Immunology

Date 2022 Oct 14

PMID 36238306

Authors

Barbora Lampova

Ivo Doskocil

Lenka Kourimska

Aneta Kopec

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The highly infectious coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is a new coronavirus that has been spreading since late 2019 and has caused millions of deaths worldwide. COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly worldwide despite high vaccination coverage; therefore, it is crucial to focus on prevention. Most patients experience only mild symptoms of COVID-19. However, in some cases, serious complications can develop mainly due to an exaggerated immune response; that is, a so-called cytokine storm, which can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome, organ failure, or, in the worst cases, death. N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and their metabolites can modulate inflammatory responses, thus reducing the over-release of cytokines. It has been hypothesized that supplementation of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids could improve clinical outcomes in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Some clinical trials have shown that administering n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids to critically ill patients can improve their health and shorten the duration of their stay in intensive care. However, previous clinical studies have some limitations; therefore, further studies are required to confirm these findings.

Citing Articles

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection unevenly impacts metabolism in the coronal periphery of the lungs.

Laro J, Xue B, Zheng J, Ness M, Perlman S, McCall L iScience. 2025; 28(2):111727.

PMID: 39995861 PMC: 11848469. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.111727.

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids as Potential Treatments for COVID-19-Induced Anosmia.

Wang Y, Lin C, Huang C Biomedicines. 2024; 12(9).

PMID: 39335598 PMC: 11428228. DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12092085.

Efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids for hospitalized COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Yue H, Zeng J, Wang Y, Deng M, Peng W, Tan X Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2023; 32(3):308-320.

PMID: 37789651 PMC: 11090385. DOI: 10.6133/apjcn.202309_32(3).0002.

Evaluating SARS-CoV-2 antibody reactivity to natural exposure and inactivated vaccination with peptide microarrays.

Zheng P, Ma J, Yang J, Liao B, Cheng Z, Xue M Front Immunol. 2023; 14:1079960.

PMID: 36891316 PMC: 9986310. DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1079960.

References

Parish M, Valiyi F, Hamishehkar H, Sanaie S, Jafarabadi M, Ej Golzari S . The Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on ARDS: A Randomized Double-Blind Study. Adv Pharm Bull. 2015; 4(Suppl 2):555-61. PMC: 4312405. DOI: 10.5681/apb.2014.082. View

Perez-Torres I, Guarner-Lans V, Soria-Castro E, Manzano-Pech L, Palacios-Chavarria A, Valdez-Vazquez R . Alteration in the Lipid Profile and the Desaturases Activity in Patients With Severe Pneumonia by SARS-CoV-2. Front Physiol. 2021; 12:667024. PMC: 8144632. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.667024. View

Wrapp D, Wang N, Corbett K, Goldsmith J, Hsieh C, Abiona O . Cryo-EM structure of the 2019-nCoV spike in the prefusion conformation. Science. 2020; 367(6483):1260-1263. PMC: 7164637. DOI: 10.1126/science.abb2507. View

Worgall T, Johnson R, Seo T, Gierens H, Deckelbaum R . Unsaturated fatty acid-mediated decreases in sterol regulatory element-mediated gene transcription are linked to cellular sphingolipid metabolism. J Biol Chem. 2001; 277(6):3878-85. DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M102393200. View

Zhang X, Qin J, Cheng X, Shen L, Zhao Y, Yuan Y . In-Hospital Use of Statins Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Mortality among Individuals with COVID-19. Cell Metab. 2020; 32(2):176-187.e4. PMC: 7311917. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2020.06.015. View

Schuchardt J, Hahn A . Bioavailability of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2013; 89(1):1-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.plefa.2013.03.010. View

Basil M, Levy B . Specialized pro-resolving mediators: endogenous regulators of infection and inflammation. Nat Rev Immunol. 2015; 16(1):51-67. PMC: 5242505. DOI: 10.1038/nri.2015.4. View

Worgall T, Sturley S, Seo T, Osborne T, Deckelbaum R . Polyunsaturated fatty acids decrease expression of promoters with sterol regulatory elements by decreasing levels of mature sterol regulatory element-binding protein. J Biol Chem. 1998; 273(40):25537-40. DOI: 10.1074/jbc.273.40.25537. View

Rosenwald A, Machamer C, Pagano R . Effects of a sphingolipid synthesis inhibitor on membrane transport through the secretory pathway. Biochemistry. 1992; 31(14):3581-90. DOI: 10.1021/bi00129a005. View

10.

Souza D, Pieri B, Comim V, de Oliveira Marques S, Luciano T, Rodrigues M . Fish oil reduces subclinical inflammation, insulin resistance, and atherogenic factors in overweight/obese type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: A pre-post pilot study. J Diabetes Complications. 2020; 34(5):107553. DOI: 10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2020.107553. View

11.

Zhang C, Wu Z, Li J, Zhao H, Wang G . Cytokine release syndrome in severe COVID-19: interleukin-6 receptor antagonist tocilizumab may be the key to reduce mortality. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2020; 55(5):105954. PMC: 7118634. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105954. View

12.

Channappanavar R, Fehr A, Vijay R, Mack M, Zhao J, Meyerholz D . Dysregulated Type I Interferon and Inflammatory Monocyte-Macrophage Responses Cause Lethal Pneumonia in SARS-CoV-Infected Mice. Cell Host Microbe. 2016; 19(2):181-93. PMC: 4752723. DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2016.01.007. View

13.

Johnson R, Hamilton J, Worgall T, Deckelbaum R . Free fatty acids modulate intermembrane trafficking of cholesterol by increasing lipid mobilities: novel 13C NMR analyses of free cholesterol partitioning. Biochemistry. 2003; 42(6):1637-45. DOI: 10.1021/bi0264465. View

14.

Sedighiyan M, Abdollahi H, Karimi E, Badeli M, Erfanian R, Raeesi S . Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation improve clinical symptoms in patients with Covid-19: A randomised clinical trial. Int J Clin Pract. 2021; 75(12):e14854. DOI: 10.1111/ijcp.14854. View

15.

Dennis E, Norris P . Eicosanoid storm in infection and inflammation. Nat Rev Immunol. 2015; 15(8):511-23. PMC: 4606863. DOI: 10.1038/nri3859. View

16.

Messina G, Polito R, Monda V, Cipolloni L, Di Nunno N, Di Mizio G . Functional Role of Dietary Intervention to Improve the Outcome of COVID-19: A Hypothesis of Work. Int J Mol Sci. 2020; 21(9). PMC: 7247152. DOI: 10.3390/ijms21093104. View

17.

Braz-de-Melo H, Pasquarelli-do-Nascimento G, Correa R, das Neves Almeida R, de Oliveira Santos I, Prado P . Potential neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects provided by omega-3 (DHA) against Zika virus infection in human SH-SY5Y cells. Sci Rep. 2019; 9(1):20119. PMC: 6984748. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56556-y. View

18.

Wang K, Qiu Z, Liu J, Fan T, Liu C, Tian P . Analysis of the clinical characteristics of 77 COVID-19 deaths. Sci Rep. 2020; 10(1):16384. PMC: 7532142. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73136-7. View

19.

Asher A, Tintle N, Myers M, Lockshon L, Bacareza H, Harris W . Blood omega-3 fatty acids and death from COVID-19: A pilot study. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2021; 166:102250. PMC: 7816864. DOI: 10.1016/j.plefa.2021.102250. View

20.

Doaei S, Gholami S, Rastgoo S, Gholamalizadeh M, Bourbour F, Bagheri S . The effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on clinical and biochemical parameters of critically ill patients with COVID-19: a randomized clinical trial. J Transl Med. 2021; 19(1):128. PMC: 8006115. DOI: 10.1186/s12967-021-02795-5. View