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Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation changes intracellular phospholipase A2 activity and membrane fatty acid profiles in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis

Molecular Psychiatry volume 19, pages 317–324 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

The identification of an ultra-high risk (UHR) profile for psychosis and a greater understanding of its prodrome have led to increasing interest in early intervention to delay or prevent the onset of psychotic illness. In a randomized placebo-controlled trial, we have identified long-chain ω-3 (ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation as potentially useful, as it reduced the rate of transition to psychosis by 22.6% 1 year after baseline in a cohort of 81 young people at UHR of transition to psychosis. However, the mechanisms whereby the ω-3 PUFAs might be neuroprotective are incompletely understood. Here, we report on the effects of ω-3 PUFA supplementation on intracellular phospholipase A2 (inPLA2) activity, the main enzymes regulating phospholipid metabolism, as well as on peripheral membrane lipid profiles in the individuals who participated in this randomized placebo-controlled trial. Patients were studied cross-sectionally (n=80) and longitudinally (n=65) before and after a 12-week intervention with 1.2 g per day ω-3 PUFAs or placebo, followed by a 40-week observation period to establish the rates of transition to psychosis. We investigated inPLA2 and erythrocyte membrane FAs in the treatment groups (ω-3 PUFAs vs placebo) and the outcome groups (psychotic vs non-psychotic). The levels of membrane ω-3 and ω-6 PUFAs and inPLA2 were significantly related. Some of the significant associations (that is, long-chain ω-6 PUFAs, arachidonic acid) with inPLA2 activity were in opposite directions in individuals who did (a positive correlation) and who did not (a negative correlation) transition to psychosis. Supplementation with ω-3 PUFA resulted in a significant decrease in inPLA2 activity. We conclude that ω-3 PUFA supplementation may act by normalizing inPLA2 activity and δ-6-desaturase-mediated metabolism of ω-3 and ω-6 PUFAs, suggesting their role in neuroprogression of psychosis.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by Stanley Medical Research Institute, Grant 03T-315. In performing inPLA2 analysis, Dr Stefan Smesny was supported by German Research Foundation (DFG), Grant Sm 68/3-1. Dr G Paul Amminger was supported by Grant 566529 from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia. Dr Sherilyn Goldstone edited the final manuscript; Margit Kornsteiner and Jessica Slavik assisted with the erythrocyte FA analysis; Kostas Papageorgiou assisted with psychiatric research assessments. We thank all of the participants and their families.

Author contributions

Drs Smesny and Amminger had full access to all the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis; all authors contributed to the writing of the paper and have approved the final version.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany

    S Smesny, B Milleit, C Milleit, M Otto, I Nenadic & H Sauer

  2. Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany

    U-C Hipler & C Milleit

  3. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    M R Schäfer, C M Klier & G P Amminger

  4. Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    M R Schäfer, M Berk, P D McGorry & G P Amminger

  5. Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    M Holub & I Holzer

  6. Department of Adolescent Psychiatry, Winterthur-Zürcher Unterland, Switzerland

    G E Berger

  7. Deakin University of Melbourne, School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Geelong, VIC, Australia,

    M Berk

  8. Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    M Berk

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  1. S Smesny
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Smesny, S., Milleit, B., Hipler, UC. et al. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation changes intracellular phospholipase A2 activity and membrane fatty acid profiles in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis. Mol Psychiatry 19, 317–324 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2013.7

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