Beneficial immune modulatory effects of a specific nutritional combination in a murine model for cancer cachexia

Abstract

The majority of patients with advanced cancer are recognised by impaired immune competence influenced by several factors, including the type and stage of the tumour and the presence of cachexia. Recently, a specific nutritional combination containing fish oil, specific oligosaccharide mixture, high protein content and leucine has been developed aimed to support the immune system of cancer patients in order to reduce the frequency and severity of (infectious) complications. In a recently modified animal model cachexia is induced by inoculation of C26 tumour cells in mice. In a pre-cachectic state, no effect was observed on contact hypersensitivity, a validated in vivo method to measure Th1-mediated immune function, after adding the individual nutritional ingredients to the diet of tumour-bearing mice. However, the complete mixture resulted in significantly improved Th1 immunity. Moreover, in a cachectic state, the complete mixture reduced plasma levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and beneficially affected ex vivo immune function. Accordingly, the combination of the nutritional ingredients is required to obtain a synergistic effect, leading to a reduced inflammatory state and improved immune competence. From this, it can be concluded that the specific nutritional combination has potential as immune-supporting nutritional intervention to reduce the risk of (infectious) complications in cancer patients.

Figure 1

Effects of oral administration of fish oil, specific oligosaccharide mixture or high protein/leucine on contact hypersensitivity. Data represent means (μm)±s.e.m. of the control (C) group (n=20), tumour-bearing control (TB) group (n=20) and tumour-bearing groups after supplementation with fish oil (TB-FO, n=10), specific oligosaccharide mixture (TB-SOM, n=10) or high protein/leucine (TB-HPrleu, n=10). ^*Significantly different (P<0.0125) from the TB group.

Figure 2

Effects of oral administration of the complete mixture of fish oil, specific oligosaccharide mixture and high protein/leucine on contact hypersensitivity (A) and ConA-stimulated T-lymphocyte proliferation by splenocytes (B). Data represent means±s.e.m. of the control (C) group (n=10), tumour-bearing control (TB) group (n=19) and tumour-bearing group after oral administration of the specific nutritional combination (TB-SNC) (n=20). For ConA-stimulated T-lymphocyte proliferation, all values were calculated as the percentage of the control group, which is set at 100%. ^*Significantly different (P<0.025) from the TB group.

Figure 3

Effects of oral administration of the complete mixture of fish oil, specific oligosaccharide mixture and high protein/leucine on plasma cytokine IL-6 (A), TNF-α (B), IL-4 (C) and PGE₂ (D) concentrations. Data represent means (pg ml⁻¹)±s.e.m. of the control (C) group (n=10), tumour-bearing control (TB) group (n=19) and tumour-bearing group after oral administration of the specific nutritional combination (TB-SNC) (n=20). ^*Significantly different (P<0.025) from the TB group.