The aim of the present study is to identify the effects of different dietary fats on the body's immune system and how different types of cells respond. There will be two rounds of recruitment in order to satisfy different aims of the study. In the first round, volunteers will be asked to undergo five separate 1-day assessments where you will be given diets in the form of milkshakes differing in amounts of fats. Volunteers recruited for this round will also be given the opportunity to participate in the second round of recruitment and feeding. A second round of recruitment will then take place to complete recruitment, if required. In the second round, volunteers will be asked to undergo two separate 1-day assessments in the form of milkshakes with differing fats, one of which will contain a tracking label added to the food during preparation. This label is in the form of is a 'stable isotope' and safe to consume (used commonly in some medical tests - see below for further information) and will allow the researchers to later find the food particles within blood cells. During these 1-day assessments blood samples will be collected to identify the impact different diets have on the immune system, specifically monocyte cells thought to play an important role in the development of atherosclerosis, a primary cause of cardiovascular disease.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
8
Healthy, Round 1
Healthy, Round 1 Healthy, Round 2
Healthy, Round 1
Healthy, Round 1
Healthy, Round 2
Healthy, Round 1
Imperial College
London, United Kingdom
Change in ICAM-1 expression by monocytes
ICAM-1 is a marker of monocyte activation (inflammation). ICAM-1 expression can be measured using flow cytometry techniques to quantify expression and therefore inflammation.
Time frame: 3 years
Intracellular lipid volume
Lipid uptake by monocyte subsets will be measured as a % of cell volume by staining monocytes with Oil-red-O for neutral intracellular lipid. The % of cell volume with lipid will be compared between the 5 interventional arms of the trial (mixed high fat, low fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat meals).
Time frame: 3 years
Quantity of dietary fatty acid within postprandial monocytes
The quantity of dietary fat incorporated into a monocyte will be measured through the use of isotope labelled dietary fat that will be tracked using gas chromatography to provide an exact quantity of how much intracellular lipid within the monocyte originated from the dietary intervention.
Time frame: 3 years
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