Omega-3 from fish oil augments GVHD through the enhancement of chemotherapy conditioning regimen and selective FoxP3 depletion.

Omega-3 is known to enhance the effects of several chemotherapeutic agents and to exert several immunoregulatory actions In the present study, we evaluated the effects of a 21-day feeding regimen with omega-3-rich fish oil (FO) and its corresponding control, omega-6 rich corn oil (CO), on the BU-CY conditioning and the development of GVHD after BMT in mice. Before conditioning, FO, but not CO, feeding caused a significant attenuation in the number and functionality of splenic FoxP3+ T regulatory cells (Treg). FO feeding also enhanced the effects of the conditioning through severe depletion of Treg cells in the spleen and CD11b+ myeloid cells in both the BM and spleen. Consequently, FO-fed animals conditioned with BU-CY showed exacerbated GVHD following transplantation with allogeneic BM and splenic cells. In contrast, identical transplantation in CO-fed mice resulted in poor engraftment and body weight loss. Moreover, in standard-fed recipients, BMT with cells from FO-fed donors resulted in moderate GVHD and improved the survival time, whereas BMT with cells from CO-fed donors shortened the survival time and caused anemia. We conclude that food supplements should be considered in patients undergoing BMT and/or chemotherapy treatment.