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1. J Nutr 1999 Feb;129(2):328-35
Fish oil feeding delays influenza virus clearance and impairs production of
interferon-gamma and virus-specific immunoglobulin A in the lungs of mice.
Byleveld PM, Pang GT, Clancy RL, Roberts DC
http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/reprint/129/2/328.pdf

Ingestion of fish oil can suppress the inflammatory response to injury and may
impair host resistance to infection. To investigate the effect of a diet
containing fish oil on immunity to viral infection, 148 BALB/c mice were fed
diets containing 3 g/100 g of sunflower oil with either 17 g/100 g of fish oil
or beef tallow for 14 d before intranasal challenge with live influenza virus.
At d 1 and d 5 after infection, the mice fed fish oil had higher lung viral load

and lower body weight (P < 0.05). In addition to the greater viral load and
weight loss at d 5 after infection, the fish oil group consumed less food (P <
0.05) while the beef tallow group was clearing the virus, had regained their
preinfection weights and was returning to their preinfection food consumption.
The fish oil group had impaired production of lung interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma),

serum immunoglobulin (Ig) G and lung IgA-specific antibodies (all P < 0. 05)
although lung IFN-alpha/beta and the relative proportions of bronchial lymph
node CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes did not differ between groups after infection.
The present study demonstrates a delay in virus clearance in mice fed fish oil
associated with reduced IFN-gamma and antibody production and a greater weight
loss and suppression of appetite following influenza virus infection. However,
differences observed during the course of infection did not affect the ultimate
outcome as both groups cleared the virus and returned to preinfection food
consumption and body weight by d 7.

2. Clin Exp Immunol 2000 Feb;119(2):287-92

Fish oil feeding enhances lymphocyte proliferation but impairs virus-specific T
lymphocyte cytotoxicity in mice following challenge with influenza virus.

Byleveld M, Pang GT, Clancy RL, Roberts DC

Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle, Newcastle,
Australia.

The effect of a fish oil diet on virus-specific cytotoxicity and lymphocyte
proliferation was investigated. Mice were fed fish oil (17 g fish oil and 3 g
sunflower/100 g) or beef tallow (17 g tallow and 3 g sunflower/100 g) diets for
14 days before intranasal challenge with influenza virus. At day 5 after
infection, lung virus-specific T lymphocyte, but not macrophage or natural
killer (NK) cell, cytotoxicity was significantly lower in mice fed fish oil,
while bronchial lymph node cell proliferation to virus was significantly higher.

In mice fed fish oil, spleen cell proliferation to virus was also significantly
higher following immunization. The results showed that, despite improved
lymphocyte proliferation, fish oil impairs primary virus-specific T lymphocyte
cytotoxicity. This impairment may explain the delayed virus clearance that we
have previously reported in infected mice fed the fish oil diet.