Abstract
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors including obesity, insulin resistance (IR) and dyslipidemia. Consumption of a high fat diet (HFD) enriched in saturated fatty acids leads to the accumulation of ceramide (Cer), the central molecule in sphingolipid metabolism. Elevations in plasma and tissue Cer are found in obese individuals, and there is evidence to suggest Cer lipotoxicity contributes to MetS. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have shown to improve MetS parameters including IR, inflammation and hypertriglyceridemia; however, whether these improvements are related to Cer is currently unknown. This review examines the potential of EPA and DHA to improve Cer lipotoxicity and MetS parameters including IR, inflammation and dyslipidemia in vitro and in vivo. Current evidence from cell culture and animal studies indicate that EPA and DHA attenuate palmitate or HFD induced Cer lipotoxicity and IR, whereas evidence in humans is greatly lacking. Overall, there is intriguing potential for EPA and DHA to improve Cer lipotoxicity and related MetS parameters, but more research is warranted.
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