Immune System Responses to Diseases/Disorders in the Dairy Animal and Potential Effects of Essential Fatty Acids

Long chain fatty acids (LCFA), primarily in the form of phospholipids, make up a significant component of the cell membrane structure in animals. These fatty acids can affect membrane fluidity and can serve as signaling molecules and as precursors for the synthesis of eicosanoids, just to name a few roles. In fact, the fatty acids have been called “gatekeepers” of cell regulation (Yaqoob, 2003). In addition, cells dedicated to fight and prevent health problems in animals also contain LCFA in their cell membranes. These LCFA within cells are very dynamic, with the fatty acid profile of these cells open to modification by the fatty acid profile of the diet of the animal. Therefore there is strong interest in conducting human and animal research to determine how dietary fatty acids can influence the immune system. Most of this work has been done in nonruminant species, with little focus on ruminant animals. This paper will give a very brief overview of the effects of the essential fatty acids, the ω-6 (linoleic) and ω-3 (linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid) fatty acids, on the cells and compounds involved in immune preservation primarily of bovine.