One year of omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation does not reduce circulating prothrombotic microvesicles in elderly subjects after suffering a myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Circulating microvesicles (cMV) are both effectors and biomarkers of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and the effects of omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n3 PUFA) in MV shedding are not yet well known. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effects of long-term n3 PUFA supplementation on cMV release from cells of the vascular compartment in elderly subjects at very high risk of CVD.

METHODS: We included 156 elderly patients 2-8 weeks after suffering an acute myocardial infarction from the OMEMI cohort. Subjects were randomly allocated to receive 930 mg EPA + 660 mg DHA (n3 PUFA intervention) or corn oil (56% linoleic acid, 32% oleic acid, 10% palmitic acid) used as placebo daily for two years. At inclusion and after one-year follow-up, prothrombotic [annexin V (AV)+] cMV derived from blood and vascular cells were phenotyped by flow cytometry.

RESULTS: No differences were observed in the levels of cMV between the randomized groups at inclusion in the study. After one-year follow-up, total AV+, platelet-derived CD61+/AV+, and endothelial-derived CD31+/AV+ and CD31+/CD42b-/AV+ cMV increased significantly in both groups. In the n3 PUFA supplemented group, platelet-derived CD62P+/AV+, CD42b+/AV+ and CD31+/CD42b+/AV+; leukocyte-derived CD62L+/AV+, CD45+/AV+, and CD11b+/AV+, as well as endothelial derived CD146+/AV+, CD62E+/AV+, and CD309+/AV+ cMV also increased significantly. No significant differences were however, observed in the changes of cMV levels between groups.

CONCLUSION: In elderly Norwegians who have suffered a recent acute myocardial infarction and treated as per guidelines, long-term supplementation with 1.8 g/day n3 PUFA does not modulate prothrombotic MV release from blood and vascular cells.

REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT01841944.