👤 Barry W Hyland

Optimal maternal long-chain PUFA (LCPUFA) status is essential for the developing fetus. The fatty acid desaturase (FADS) genes are involved in the endogenous synthesis of LCPUFA. The minor allele of various FADS SNP have been associated with increased maternal concentrations of the precursors linoleic acid (LA) and α-linolenic acid (ALA), and lower concentrations of arachidonic acid (AA) and DHA. There is limited research on the influence of FADS genotype on cord PUFA status. The current study investigated the influence of maternal and child genetic variation in FADS genotype on cord blood PUFA status in a high fish-eating cohort. Cord blood samples (n 1088) collected from the Seychelles Child Development Study (SCDS) Nutrition Cohort 2 (NC2) were analysed for total serum PUFA. Of those with cord PUFA data available, maternal (n 1062) and child (n 916), FADS1 (rs174537 and rs174561), FADS2 (rs174575), and FADS1-FADS2 (rs3834458) were determined. Regression analysis determined that maternal minor allele homozygosity was associated with lower cord blood concentrations of DHA and the sum of EPA + DHA. Lower cord blood AA concentrations were observed in children who were minor allele homozygous for rs3834458 (β = 0·075; P = 0·037). Children who were minor allele carriers for rs174537, rs174561, rs174575 and rs3834458 had a lower cord blood AA:LA ratio (P < 0·05 for all). Both maternal and child FADS genotype were associated with cord LCPUFA concentrations, and therefore, the influence of FADS genotype was observed despite the high intake of preformed dietary LCPUFA from fish in this population. Show less

Vitamin E (α-tocopherol) plays a key role in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation and has been studied as a potential chemopreventive agent for prostate cancer. The association of serum vitamin E concentrations with cancer risk may be modified by genetic variations in vitamin E-related genes. We examined whether variants in vitamin E-related genes were associated with risk of prostate cancer in a nested case-control study using 483 prostate cancer cases and 542 matched controls of European ancestry from a large U.S. multicenter trial that had available measurements of serum vitamin E concentrations and genotyping of 3 genome-wide association study meta-analysis-identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with circulating vitamin E. ORs and 95% CIs were calculated using unconditional logistic regression adjusted for age, family history of prostate cancer, and serum total cholesterol. Findings suggest lower prostate cancer risk for men whose genotypes reflect higher vitamin E (i.e., α-tocopherol) status. An SNP (rs964184) near budding-site selection protein 13 (yeast) (BUD13), zinc finger protein 259 (ZNF259), and apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) on 11q23.3 was significantly associated with prostate cancer risk (per-allele OR = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.58, 0.98; P-trend = 0.03). The association between rs964184 and prostate cancer risk was stronger among homozygous carriers of the minor allele (OR = 0.27; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.83). Another variant, rs11057830 in scavenger receptor class-B member 1 (SCARB1) on 12p24.31, approached statistical significance (OR = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.10, 1.01, P = 0.05; 2 minor allele copies). This study suggests that polymorphisms near BUD13/ZNF259/APOA5, involved in vitamin E transport and metabolism, may be associated with lower risk of prostate cancer. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00002540. Show less