Variants of the FADS1 FADS2 gene cluster, blood levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids and eczema in children within the first 2 years of life.
BACKGROUND
Association of genetic-variants in the FADS1-FADS2-gene-cluster with fatty-acid-composition in blood of adult-populations is well established. We analyze this genetic-association in two children-cohort-studies. In addition, the association between variants in the FADS-gene-cluster and blood-fatty-acid-composition with eczema was studied.


RESULTS
Data of two population-based-birth-cohorts in The Netherlands and Germany (KOALA, LISA) were pooled (n = 879) and analyzed by (logistic) regression regarding the mutual influence of single-nucleotide-polymorphisms (SNPs) in the FADS-gene-cluster (rs174545, rs174546, rs174556, rs174561, rs3834458), on polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in blood and parent-reported eczema until the age of 2 years. All SNPs were highly significantly associated with all PUFAs except for alpha-linolenic-acid and eicosapentaenoic-acid, also after correction for multiple-testing. All tested SNPs showed associations with eczema in the LISA-study, but not in the KOALA-study. None of the PUFAs was significantly associated with eczema neither in the pooled nor in the analyses stratified by study-cohort.


CONCLUSIONS
PUFA-composition in young children's blood is under strong control of the FADS-gene-cluster. Inconsistent results were found for a link between these genetic-variants with eczema. PUFA in blood was not associated with eczema. Thus the hypothesis of an inflammatory-link between PUFA and eczema by the metabolic-pathway of LC-PUFAs as precursors for inflammatory prostaglandins and leukotrienes could not be confirmed by these data.
Rzehak
Peter
P
Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Neuherberg, Germany. peter.rzehak@helmholtz-muenchen.de
Thijs
Carel
C
Standl
Marie
M
Mommers
Monique
M
Glaser
Claudia
C
Jansen
Eugène
E
Klopp
Norman
N
Koppelman
Gerard H
GH
Singmann
Paula
P
Postma
Dirkje S
DS
Sausenthaler
Stefanie
S
Dagnelie
Pieter C
PC
van den Brandt
Piet A
PA
Koletzko
Berthold
B
Heinrich
Joachim
J
D015331:Cohort Studies; D000090943:Delta-5 Fatty Acid Desaturase; D004485:Eczema / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases / Q000235:genetics*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D005810:Multigene Family; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
D000090943:Delta-5 Fatty Acid Desaturase; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases; C000716847:FADS1 protein, human; C533241:FADS2 protein, human