Beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acids in the proteome of high-density lipoprotein proteome

Background: Omega-3 poly-unsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 PUFAs) have demonstrated to be beneficial in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, however, the mechanisms by which they perform their cardiovascular protection have not been clarified. Intriguingly, some of these protective effects have also been linked to HDL. The hypothesis of this study was that omega-3 PUFAs could modify the protein cargo of HDL particle in a triglyceride non-dependent mode. The objective of the study was to compare the proteome of HDL before and after omega-3 PUFAs supplemented diet. Methods: A comparative proteomic analysis in 6 smoker subjects HDL before and after a 5 weeks omega-3 PUFAs enriched diet has been performed. Results: Among the altered proteins, clusterin, paraoxonase, and apoAI were found to increase, while fibronectin, alpha-1-antitrypsin, complement C1r subcomponent and complement factor H decreased after diet supplementation with omega-3 PUFAs. Immunodetection assays confirmed these results. The up-regulated proteins are related to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerotic properties of HDL, while the down-regulated proteins are related to regulation of complement activation and acute phase response. Conclusions: Despite the low number of subjects included in the study, our findings demonstrate that omega-3 PUFAs supplementation modifies lipoprotein containing apoAI (LpAI) proteome and suggest that these protein changes improve the functionality of the particle.