Effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids on human and rat cells. In vitro versus in vivo experiments.

Human infant skin fibroblasts and liver cells were subcultured with 250 microM PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acid), and primary cultures of glial brain cells from new-born rats with 100 microM; oleic acid was added to controls. Minimum essential medium (MEM) supplemented with bovine serum was used as a reference. During the short-term experiment (18-24 h), control liver cells showed a regular increase in protein level, while protein increment was more rapid in linoleic and especially in arachidonic acid-treated cells, but only for the first 3 hours.

Permissive role of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids on carbohydrate oxidation in human infant skin fibroblasts: one possible mechanism of their intervention on coronary heart disease and diabetes.

Unlabelled: Many publications indicate the beneficial effect of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-6 PUFAs) in the control of coronary heart disease and diabetes, although the mechanism is not clear. Some of our previous results suggest that, in contrast to other lipids, n-6 PUFAs could have a permissive effect on carbohydrate oxidation. To check this hypothesis, we determined pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH, decarboxylase: EC 1.