The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Parenteral fish oil: An adjuvant pharmacotherapy for coronavirus disease 2019?

Parenteral fish oil: An adjuvant pharmacotherapy for coronavirus disease 2019?
Parenteral fish oil: An adjuvant pharmacotherapy for coronavirus disease 2019?

The new coronavirus associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2), surprisingly, does not affect only the lungs. The severe response to SARS-CoV-2 appears to include a “cytokine storm,” which indicates a state of hyperinflammation and subsequent dysfunction of multiple organs and tissues in the most severe cases. This could be the reason why populations at the highest risk for death from the SARS-CoV-2 infection–induced disease (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) are those suffering from chronic low-grade inflammation, but prone to hyperinflammation. This includes individuals of advanced age and those with obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome. Inflammation resolution is strongly dependent on lipid mediators, the specialized pro-resolution mediators (SPMs). ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) are precursors of very potent SPMs, including resolvins, protectins, and maresins. Additionally, they are associated with a less aggressive inflammatory initiation, after competing with ω-6 fatty acids for eicosanoid synthesis. Therefore, it makes sense to consider the use of ω-3 PUFAs for clinical management of COVID-19 patients. ω-3 PUFAs may be given by oral, enteral, or parenteral routes; however, the parenteral route favors faster incorporation into plasma phospholipids, blood cells, and tissues. Here, we discuss these aspects to propose the parenteral infusion of ω-3 PUFAs as adjuvant immunopharmacotherapy for hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

COVID-19, Hyperinflammation, Parenteral fish oil, Resolution of inflammation, Specialized pro-resolving mediators
0899-9007
1-15
Torrinhas, Raquel S.
bfa6e685-ef9a-429d-b737-27d9a152a215
Calder, Philip
1797e54f-378e-4dcb-80a4-3e30018f07a6
Lemos, Gabriela O.
f8b74a5f-6ff8-43d2-b26a-b97a244b6541
Waitzberg, Dan L.
87eb74ac-e41e-4c03-bb8a-1937e1dc9d74
Torrinhas, Raquel S.
bfa6e685-ef9a-429d-b737-27d9a152a215
Calder, Philip
1797e54f-378e-4dcb-80a4-3e30018f07a6
Lemos, Gabriela O.
f8b74a5f-6ff8-43d2-b26a-b97a244b6541
Waitzberg, Dan L.
87eb74ac-e41e-4c03-bb8a-1937e1dc9d74

Torrinhas, Raquel S., Calder, Philip, Lemos, Gabriela O. and Waitzberg, Dan L. (2021) Parenteral fish oil: An adjuvant pharmacotherapy for coronavirus disease 2019? Nutrition, 81, 1-15, [110900]. (doi:10.1016/j.nut.2020.110900).

Record type: Letter

Abstract

The new coronavirus associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2), surprisingly, does not affect only the lungs. The severe response to SARS-CoV-2 appears to include a “cytokine storm,” which indicates a state of hyperinflammation and subsequent dysfunction of multiple organs and tissues in the most severe cases. This could be the reason why populations at the highest risk for death from the SARS-CoV-2 infection–induced disease (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) are those suffering from chronic low-grade inflammation, but prone to hyperinflammation. This includes individuals of advanced age and those with obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome. Inflammation resolution is strongly dependent on lipid mediators, the specialized pro-resolution mediators (SPMs). ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) are precursors of very potent SPMs, including resolvins, protectins, and maresins. Additionally, they are associated with a less aggressive inflammatory initiation, after competing with ω-6 fatty acids for eicosanoid synthesis. Therefore, it makes sense to consider the use of ω-3 PUFAs for clinical management of COVID-19 patients. ω-3 PUFAs may be given by oral, enteral, or parenteral routes; however, the parenteral route favors faster incorporation into plasma phospholipids, blood cells, and tissues. Here, we discuss these aspects to propose the parenteral infusion of ω-3 PUFAs as adjuvant immunopharmacotherapy for hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Text
Parenteral fish oil in COVID-19 - Manuscript - Accepted Manuscript
Download (133kB)

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 13 May 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 20 June 2020
Published date: January 2021
Additional Information: Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: COVID-19, Hyperinflammation, Parenteral fish oil, Resolution of inflammation, Specialized pro-resolving mediators

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 440710
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/440710
ISSN: 0899-9007
PURE UUID: 6390c571-4fcb-4f62-983b-18d4eee92e50
ORCID for Philip Calder: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6038-710X

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 14 May 2020 16:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 05:34

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Raquel S. Torrinhas
Author: Philip Calder ORCID iD
Author: Gabriela O. Lemos
Author: Dan L. Waitzberg

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×