Effects of Omegaven®, EPA, DHA and oxaliplatin on oesophageal adenocarcinoma cell lines growth, cytokine and cell signal biomarkers expression

BACKGROUND: There is limited evidence assessing the effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on oesophageal adenocarcinoma, both in vitro and in vivo. We evaluated the effects of the omega-3 PUFA and oxaliplatin on OE33 and OE19 cells. METHOD: The two oesophageal cells were treated with Omegaven® (fish oil emulsion), EPA, DHA and oxaliplatin and incubated for up to 144 h. RESULTS: The following inhibitory effects were observed on OE33 cells: EPA reduced cell growth by 39% (p = 0.001), DHA by 59% (p < 0.000) and Oxaliplatin by 77% (p < 0.000). For OE19 cells, the EPA reduced growth by 1% (p = 0.992), DHA by 26% (p = 0.019) and oxaliplatin by 76% (p < 0.000). For both cells, Omegaven® resulted in reduced cell growth at intermediate concentrations (20-40 μM) and increased cell growth at low (10 μM) and high (50 μM) concentrations. DHA, Omegaven® and oxaliplatin were associated with significant downregulation of VEGF and p53 protein, and upregulation of p21 protein. DHA, Omegaven® and Oxaliplatin also led to significant downregulation of the total ERK1/2 and Akt proteins. CONCLUSION: DHA, Omegaven® and oxaliplatin were associated with downregulation of p53 and VEGF in both cells. Of the PUFAs studied, DHA alone or in combination (Omegaven®) had greater in vitro anti-cancer effects than EPA alone. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12944-018-0664-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.