Circulating CD36+ microparticles are not altered by docosahexaenoic or eicosapentaenoic acid supplementation.

Background and Aims: Circulating microparticles (MP) are the source of a plasma derived form of the scavenger receptor CD36, termed soluble (s)CD36, the levels of which correlate with markers of atherosclerosis and risk of cardiovascular disease. Long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have cardioprotective effects that we have previously reported to be gender specific. The aim of this study was to determine if dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and/or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) supplementation affect circulating CD36 + MP levels, and if this occurs differentially in healthy men and women.
Methods and Results: Participants (43M, 51F) aged 39.6 ± 1.7 years received 4 weeks of daily supplementation with DHA rich (200 mg EPA; 1000 mg DHA), EPA rich (1000 mg EPA; 200 mg DHA), or placebo (sunola) oil in a double-blinded, randomised, placebo controlled trial. Plasma CD36 + MP were enumerated by flow cytometry and differences between genders and treatments were evaluated by Student's or paired t-test and one way ANOVA. Males and females had similar levels of CD36 + MP at baseline (mean = 1018 ± 325 vs 980 ± 318; p = 0.577) and these were not significantly changed after DHA (M, p = 0.571; F, p = 0.444) or EPA (M, p = 0.361; F, p = 0.901) supplementation. Likewise, the overall percent change in these levels were not different between supplemented cohorts compared to placebo when all participants were combined (% change in CD36 + MP: DHA = 5.7 ± 37.5, EPA = -3.4 ± 35.4, placebo = -11.5 ± 32.9; p = 0.158) or stratified by gender (M, DHA = -2.6 ± 30.6, EPA = -15.1 ± 20.1, placebo = -21.4 ± 28.7, p = 0.187; F, DHA = 11.7 ± 41.5, EPA = 6.8 ± 42.9, placebo = -2.8 ± 34.7, p = 0.552).
Conclusion: The cardioprotective effects of DHA and EPA do not act through a CD36 + MP mechanism.
(Copyright © 2015 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)