Fish Oil Supplementation Reduces Heart Levels of Interleukin-6 in Rats with Chronic Inflammation due to Epilepsy

Abstract

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a major cause of premature death related to epilepsy. The causes of SUDEP remain unknown, but cardiac arrhythmias and asphyxia have been suggested as a major mechanism of this event. Inflammation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of both epilepsy and ventricular arrhythmia, with interleukin-6 (IL-6) being recognized as a crucial orchestrator of inflammatory states. Our group previously reported that levels of IL-6 were increased in the hearts of epileptic rats. In this scenario, anti-inflammatory actions are among the beneficial effects of fish oil dietary supplementation. This investigation revealed that elevated levels of IL-6 in the heart were markedly reduced in epileptic rats that were treated in the long-term with fish oil, suggesting protective anti-inflammatory actions against dangerously high levels of IL-6. Based on these findings, our results suggest beneficial effects of long-term intake of fish oil in reducing the inflammation associated with chronic epilepsy.

Keywords: epilepsy; fish oil; heart; inflammation; interleukin-6; sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.

Figure 1

Immunoblot of interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 levels in hearts of rats from control and epilepsy groups treated with vehicle or fish oil (85 mg/kg). The PVDF membrane was probed with anti-IL-6 antibody and re-probed with anti-β-actin. Each bar represents the mean ± SEM of the ratio IL-6/β-actin from four individual experiments (*p < 0.05; ***p < 0.001).

Figure 2

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) quantification by ELISA. IL-6 levels in the hearts of rats in control and epilepsy groups treated with vehicle or fish oil (85 mg/kg) for 90 days. Each bar represents mean ± SEM of five individual experiments (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01).