Novel Interactions of Myristic Acid and FADS3 Variants Predict Atopic Dermatitis among Indonesian Infants

Nutrients. 2022 Nov 4;14(21):4676. doi: 10.3390/nu14214676.

Abstract

Fatty acids exert a range of different biological activities that could be relevant in the development of atopic dermatitis (AD). This study investigated the association of glycerophospholipid fatty acids (GPL-FA) with AD, and their interactions with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the FADS1-3 gene cluster. Among 390 infants of the Indonesian ISADI study, GPL-FA were measured in umbilical plasma (P-0y) and in buccal cells at birth (B-0y), and again in buccal cells at AD onset or one year (B-1y). Prospective and cross-sectional associations with AD were assessed by logistic regression. Interactions of GPL-FA with 14 SNP were tested assuming an additive model. AD was diagnosed in 15.4% of participants. In B-1y, C18:2n-6 was inversely associated with AD; and positive associations were observed for C18:1n-9, C20:4n-6, C22:6n-3 and C20:4n-6/C18:2n-6. There were no prospective associations with AD, however, a significant interaction between the SNP rs174449 and B-0y C14:0 (myristic acid) was observed. This study indicates that Indonesian infants with AD have increased rates of endogenous long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid production, as well as higher C18:1n-9 levels. GPL-FA measured at birth do not predict later AD incidence; however, genotype interactions reveal novel effects of myristic acid, which are modified by a FADS3 variant.

Keywords: FADS gene variants; atopic dermatitis; fatty acids; infants; metabolism.

MeSH terms

  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Dermatitis, Atopic* / genetics
  • Fatty Acid Desaturases / genetics
  • Fatty Acids
  • Glycerophospholipids
  • Humans
  • Indonesia / epidemiology
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Mouth Mucosa
  • Myristic Acid

Substances

  • Myristic Acid
  • Fatty Acids
  • Glycerophospholipids
  • FADS3 protein, human
  • Fatty Acid Desaturases

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Commission of the European Communities with the European Research Council Advanced Grant META-GROWTH (ERC-2012- AdG 322605) and the Mead Johnson Pediatric Nutrition Institute (grant 8670 to CT). The funders had no influence on the design, implementation, analysis, and interpretation of the data.