Omega fatty acids and resolution of inflammation: A new twist in an old tale

Identification of the factors that regulate immune tolerance and control the appearance of exacerbated inflammatory conditions is crucial for the development of new therapies of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Resolution of inflammation and the return of tissues to homeostasis protect us against excessive tissue injury and promote the restoration of function and structure. Resolution of inflammation, which was considered a passive event, is actually an active process where new families of endogenous lipid mediators from omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids play an important role in removing proinflammatory mediators generated from arachidonic acid. These chemical mediator families, termed Resolvins and Protectins, are potent stereoselective agonists that control the duration and magnitude of inflammation, along with the Lipoxins as signals in resolution. This review examines the mapping of these circuits and recent advances in our understanding of the biosynthesis and actions of these novel proresolving lipid mediators. A search in the electronical databases PubMed and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials was carried out. The search strategy applied was: "Omega fatty acid" AND "resolution of inflammation," including articles from January 1,1985 to October 2009. This resulted in the identification of a total of 52 articles, which were analyzed in full text leading to consideration of only nine full texts.