Effects of dietary supplementation on autoimmunity in the MRL/lpr mouse: a preliminary investigation

The effects of dietary fatty acid supplementation on various disease parameters in the spontaneously autoimmune MRL-mp-lpr/lpr mouse model of systemic lupus erythematosus before onset of disease were investigated. A fat deficient diet was supplemented with the following oils: olive oil, sunflower oil, evening primrose oil (EPO), fish oil, and a fish oil/EPO mixture. The mice receiving a diet enriched with EPO showed an increase in survival, as did those receiving the fish oil/EPO mixture. These results, taken together with those of the other parameters monitored, suggest that EPO may be of benefit in alleviating the murine form of the disease.