Dr. Hanson researches omega-3’s role in lung diseases

Corrine Hanson, PhD, professor of nutrition in the UNMC College of Allied Health Professions, is a co-principal investigator studying the role fatty acid-derived compounds that resolve inflammation play in resiliency for people with lung diseases.

The two-year project is funded by an R21 grant from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Hanson and collaborator Sonali Bose, MD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, aim to determine if greater concentrations of these compounds are associated with improved respiratory outcomes in individuals with emphysema. If so, diet may be a potential therapeutic intervention in the treatment of lung diseases.

Tara Nordgren, PhD, of Colorado State University, a UNMC Graduate Studies alumnus, also is a collaborator.

Lung diseases are a leading cause of death in the U.S., and inflammation is a key factor in lung disease, Dr. Hanson said. Diet, specifically a diet heavy on omega-3 fatty acids, can play an important role in the management of inflammation.

“Most people understand that omega-3 fatty acids are good for you,” Dr. Hanson said. “But maybe they don’t know exactly why.

“One of the reasons they are good for you is they are metabolized to compounds that we call specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs). Those are downstream metabolites of omega-3s.”

A sequence of enzymatic reactions transforms omega-3s into SPMs, and SPMs in turn resolve inflammation, Dr. Hanson said.

The team is measuring SPMs in a population with lung disease, using samples from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute biorepository. Investigators will use SPMs as a measure of someone’s capacity to resolve inflammation and study the association of SPMs with outcomes, symptoms, comorbidities and progression of the disease.

“This the first time this has been explored extensively in any kind of lung disease,” Dr. Hanson said.

But some demographic populations don’t metabolize omega-3s into SPMs as well as others – and thus would have less ability to fight inflammation. A second aspect of the study is determining vulnerable populations at risk of low inflammation resistance.

Eventually, “we may look into resolving that health disparity with direct SPM supplementation as opposed to generalized diet recommendations,” Dr. Hanson said.