title: The Effect of Ethnicity on Human Axillary Odorant Production.
abstract: Previous findings from our laboratory highlighted marked ethnic differences in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from cerumen among individuals of Caucasian, East Asian, and African-American descent, based, in part, on genetic differences in a gene that codes for a transport protein, which is a member of the ATP-binding cassette transporter, sub-family C, member 11 (ABCC11). In the current work, we hypothesized that axillary odorants produced by East Asians would differ markedly from those obtained from individuals of European or African descent based on the pattern of ethnic diversity that exists in ABCC11. Using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) we examined differences in axillary odorant VOCs among 30 individuals of African-American, Caucasian, and East Asian descent with respect to their ABCC11 genotype. While no qualitative differences in the type of axillary odorants were observed across ethnic groups, we found that characteristic axillary odorants varied quantitatively with respect to ethnic origin. We propose that ABCC11 is not solely responsible for predicting the relative amounts of volatiles found in axillary secretions and that other biochemical pathways must be involved.
authors.affiliation: Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3500 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. kprigge@monell.org.
authors.forename: Katharine A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9679-2422
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Prokop-Prigge
authors.affiliation: Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3500 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.affiliation: Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3500 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Varallo
authors.affiliation: Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3500 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.|School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Charles J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Wysocki
authors.affiliation: Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3500 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.|Department of Dermatology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Preti
mesh_terms: D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters / Q000235:genetics; D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D044383:Black People / Q000235:genetics; D002571:Cerumen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009812:Odorants / Q000032:analysis*; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics; D001741:Black or African American
chemical_list: C435500:ABCC11 protein, human; D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds
keywords: Analytical chemistry; Axillary odor; Ethnicity/race; Genetics; Volatile organic compounds