Specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs)

Specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) are your body's 'stop' signals for inflammation. They are bioactive fats made from polyunsaturated fatty acids. Lipoxins come from arachidonic acid (an omega-6), while resolvins, protectins, and maresins are built from the omega-3s EPA and DHA as inflammation winds down. SPMs do not just passively let inflammation fade; they actively end it. They tell immune cells (macrophages) to clear out dead cells (efferocytosis), hold back incoming neutrophils, boost germ-killing, and help tissue heal. Charles Serhan established this in his 2014 Nature review, defining resolution as an active, built process. Two SPMs, Resolvin D1 (RvD1) and Maresin-1 (MaR1), can be measured in your blood (by LC-MS/MS), and they fall with age as pro-inflammatory signals rise. That shift feeds 'inflammaging': aged tissues show a high ratio of inflammatory leukotrienes to resolvins and poor dead-cell clearance, which lets senescent cells pile up. In aging mice, RvD1 restores that clearance by protecting a receptor (MerTK) on macrophages (Rymut et al. 2020). In humans, the omega-3 trial evidence is still mostly mechanistic, and no SPM-based drug is approved yet.

Last reviewed: June 22, 2026

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