High-fat diets suppress CD3 and CD25 expression on the surface of murine lymphocytes

To determine the effects of dietary fats on surface antigen expression, we tested the effects of amount and type of dietary fat on murine lymphocytes. Mice were fed diets with 12 en%, 23 en%, or 47 en% fat containing coconut, olive, safflower, or linseed oil. After 2 wk of ad libitum feeding, the mice were killed and splenic lymphocytes were harvested. Lymphocytes were incubated with fluorescent-tagged monoclonal antibodies and assayed for mean and total surface expression using flow cytometry. Our results show that high-fat (47 en%) diets suppress expression of CD3 and CD25 antigens. We also found that linseed-oil diets suppress expression of CD11a but enhance expression of CD25 antigens. Both CD3 and CD25 are critical for lymphocyte activation, and we conclude that immunosuppression associated with high-fat diets may be associated with suppression of these surface antigens.