title: LINE-1 methylation is positively associated with healthier lifestyle but inversely related to body fat mass in healthy young individuals.
abstract: With the goal of investigating if epigenetic biomarkers from white blood cells (WBC) are associated with dietary, anthropometric, metabolic, inflammatory and oxidative stress parameters in young and apparently healthy individuals. We evaluated 156 individuals (91 women, 65 men; age: 23.1±3.5 years; body mass index: 22.0±2.9 kg/m(2)) for anthropometric, biochemical and clinical markers, including some components of the antioxidant defense system and inflammatory response. DNA methylation of LINE-1, TNF-α and IL-6 and the expression of some genes related to the inflammatory process were analyzed in WBC. Adiposity was lower among individuals with higher LINE-1 methylation. On the contrary, body fat-free mass was higher among those with higher LINE-1 methylation. Individuals with higher LINE-1 methylation had higher daily intakes of calories, iron and riboflavin. However, those individuals who presented lower percentages of LINE-1 methylation reported higher intakes of copper, niacin and thiamin. Interestingly, the group with higher LINE-1 methylation had a lower percentage of current smokers and more individuals practicing sports. On the other hand, TNF-α methylation percentage was negatively associated with waist girth, waist-to-hip ratio and waist-to-stature ratio. Plasma TNF-α levels were lower in those individuals with higher TNF-α methylation. This study suggests that higher levels of LINE-1 and TNF-α methylation are associated with better indicators of adiposity status in healthy young individuals. In addition, energy and micronutrient intake, as well as a healthy lifestyle, may have a role in the regulation of DNA methylation in WBC and the subsequent metabolic changes may affect epigenetic biomarkers.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nutrition and Health , Universidade Federal de Viçosa , Viçosa , Brazil.
authors.forename: José Luiz
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Marques-Rocha
authors.affiliation: b Department of Nutrition , Food Science and Physiology, Center for Nutrition Research, University of Navarra , Pamplona , Spain.|c CIBERobn, Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y la Nutrición, Carlos III Health Institute , Madrid , Spain.
authors.forename: Fermin I
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Milagro
authors.affiliation: b Department of Nutrition , Food Science and Physiology, Center for Nutrition Research, University of Navarra , Pamplona , Spain.
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Mansego
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nutrition and Health , Universidade Federal de Viçosa , Viçosa , Brazil.
authors.forename: Denise Machado
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Mourão
authors.affiliation: b Department of Nutrition , Food Science and Physiology, Center for Nutrition Research, University of Navarra , Pamplona , Spain.|c CIBERobn, Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y la Nutrición, Carlos III Health Institute , Madrid , Spain.|d IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research , Pamplona , Spain.
authors.forename: J Alfredo
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nutrition and Health , Universidade Federal de Viçosa , Viçosa , Brazil.
authors.forename: Josefina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bressan
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity / Q000235:genetics*; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000737:chemistry; D019175:DNA Methylation; D002149:Energy Intake; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D000070497:Healthy Lifestyle; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000737:chemistry; D019266:Iron, Dietary / Q000032:analysis; D020084:Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements; D008297:Male; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000737:chemistry; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C508600:IL6 protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6; D019266:Iron, Dietary; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
keywords: Adiposity; IL-6; TNF-α; biomarker; diet; epigenetics; inflammation