• fatty acids
• inflammatory cytokines
• dietary fats
• macrophages
• inflammation

Inflammation is part of the non-specific immune response that occurs in reaction to any type of harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells or irritants, and it is generally described as consisting of separate acute and chronic phases. Chronic inflammation is due to an extended exposure to the inflammatory stimuli and/or to an uncontrolled response, and it is involved into many common diseases. Macrophages are innate immune cells involved into inflammation, being producers of inflammatory cytokines. Food, and more specifically dietary fats, can play an essential role in inflammation, as there are many scientific studies that demonstrate how fatty acids can have both pro- and anti-inflammatory effects, by modulating gene expression and secretion of molecules related to inflammation. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the various effects of emulsions derived from six different dietary fats i.e., milk fat, sunflower oil, safflower oil, olive oil, linseed oil and palm oil, on LPS-induced inflammation in monocytes derived macrophages. To investigate the immunomodulation ability of dietary fats an in vitro model was developed, using THP-1 and GM-CSF macrophages in which LPS stimulation was preceded or followed by treatment with emulsions. Even if no emulsion showed a clear anti-inflammatory effect, the results revealed different effects of emulsions in modulating inflammatory cytokines that might be associated with the fatty acids composition and stereospecificity. Furthermore, our results suggest that in THP-1 macrophages pre-treatment with emulsions derived from olive oil and linseed oil might help to prevent the inflammatory response induced by LPS. However, the model requires more development and a deeper study of cytokines expression and secretion. Since this is an in vitro study, the results obtained should be compared and completed with research developed outside the in vitro setting. Nevertheless, this study suggests new insight into the dietary fats effect on inflammation and provides a starting point for follow-up research.