Molecular basis for the immunosuppressive action of stearic acid on T cells.
Author
Tebbey, P. W.; Buttke, Thomas M.
Abstract
Studies were performed to determine the mechanism by which stearic acid (18: 0) selectively inhibits T-dependent immune responses in vitro. Incubation of mitogen-activated B and T cells with 18:0 resulted in dissimilar patterns of incorporation of the saturated fatty acid into their membranes. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses of T cells showed an accumulation of desaturated 18:0-containing phosphatidylcholine (PC) that replaced normal cellular PC. Less significant quantities of the same PC species were seen to accumulate in B-cell membranes; rather, they increased their proportion of oleic acid (18: 1)-containing PC. The different lipid compositions of the lymphocyte cell membranes after exposure to 18:0 were correlated with their plasma membrane potentials. In T cells, the accumulation ofdesaturated, 18: 0-containing PC coincided with a rapid (within 8 hr) collapse ofmembrane integrity, as determined by flow cytometry. The collapse of membrane integrity was found to be time and dose dependent. No such depolarization was observed in B cells which, by virtue of their desaturating ability, were able to avoid incorporating large amounts of desaturated 18: 0-containing phospholipids into their membranes. It is proposed that a lack of stearoyl-CoA desaturase in T cells precludes them from desaturating exogenously derived 18:0, thus leading to increased proportions of 18:0-containing desaturated PC in their cell membranes. The increased abundance of this PC species may enhance membrane rigidity to an extent that plasma membrane integrity is significantly impaired, leading to a loss ofmembrane potential and ultimately cell function and viability. Originally published Immunology, Vol. 70, No. 3, July 1990
Date
1990-07
Citation:
APA:
Tebbey, P. W., & Buttke, Thomas M.. (July 1990).
Molecular basis for the immunosuppressive action of stearic acid on T cells..
Immunology,
70(3),
379-
386. Retrieved from
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/3426
MLA:
Tebbey, P. W., and Buttke, Thomas M..
"Molecular basis for the immunosuppressive action of stearic acid on T cells.". Immunology.
70:3. (379-386),
July 1990.
September 22, 2023.
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/3426.
Chicago:
Tebbey, P. W. and Buttke, Thomas M.,
"Molecular basis for the immunosuppressive action of stearic acid on T cells.," Immunology 70, no.
3 (July 1990),
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/3426 (accessed
September 22, 2023).
AMA:
Tebbey, P. W., Buttke, Thomas M..
Molecular basis for the immunosuppressive action of stearic acid on T cells.. Immunology.
July 1990;
70(3):
379-386.
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/3426. Accessed
September 22, 2023.
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Publisher
East Carolina University