Fatty acid metabolism is altered in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis independent of obesity.

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is associated with changes in fatty acid (FA) metabolism. However, specific changes in metabolism and hepatic mRNA expression related to NASH independent of simple steatosis, obesity and diet are unknown. METHODS: Liver histology, serum and liver FA composition and estimated enzyme activities based on the FA ratios in cholesteryl esters and triglycerides were assessed in 92 obese participants of the Kuopio Obesity Surgery Study (KOBS) divided to those with normal liver, steatosis or NASH (30 men and 62 women, age 46.8±9.5years (mean±SD), BMI 44.2±6.2kg/m(2)). Plasma FA composition was also investigated in the Metabolic Syndrome in Men (METSIM) Study (n=769), in which serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was used as a marker of liver disease. RESULTS: Obese individuals with NASH had higher activity of estimated activities of delta-6 desaturase (D6D, p<0.002) and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1, p<0.002) and lower activity of delta-5 desaturase (D5D, p<0.002) when compared to individuals with normal liver. Estimated activities of D5D, D6D and SCD1 correlated positively between liver and serum indicating that serum estimates reflected liver metabolism. Accordingly, NASH was associated with higher hepatic mRNA expression of corresponding genes FADS1, FADS2 and SCD. Finally, differences in FA metabolism that associated with NASH in obese individuals were also associated with high ALT in the METSIM Study. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated alterations in FA metabolism and endogenous desaturase activities that associate with NASH, independent of obesity and diet. This suggests that changes in endogenous FA metabolism are related to NASH and that they may contribute to the progression of the disease.

Gene-diet interaction of a common FADS1 variant with marine polyunsaturated fatty acids for fatty acid composition in plasma and erythrocytes among men.

SCOPE: Limited information exists on how the relationship between dietary intake of fat and fatty acids in erythrocytes and plasma is modulated by polymorphisms in the FADS gene cluster. We examined gene-diet interaction of total marine PUFA intake with a known gene encoding Δ-5 desaturase enzyme (FADS1) variant (rs174550) for fatty acids in erythrocyte membranes and plasma phospholipids (PL), cholesteryl esters (CE), and triglycerides (TG). METHODS AND RESULTS: In this cross-sectional study, fatty acid compositions were measured using GC, and total intake of polyunsaturated fat from fish and fish oil was estimated using a food frequency questionnaire in a subsample (n = 962) of the Metabolic Syndrome in Men Study. We found nominally significant gene-diet interactions for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) in erythrocytes (pinteraction = 0.032) and for EPA in plasma PL (pinteraction = 0.062), CE (pinteraction = 0.035), and TG (pinteraction = 0.035), as well as for docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-3) in PL (pinteraction = 0.007). After excluding omega-3 supplement users, we found a significant gene-diet interaction for EPA in erythrocytes (pinteraction < 0.003). In a separate cohort of the Kuopio Obesity Surgery Study, the same locus was strongly associated with hepatic mRNA expression of FADS1 (p = 1.5 × 10(-10) ). CONCLUSION: FADS1 variants may modulate the relationship between marine fatty acid intake and circulating levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.

Longitudinal associations of serum fatty acid composition with type 2 diabetes risk and markers of insulin secretion and sensitivity in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study.

PURPOSE: To examine the longitudinal associations of serum fatty acid composition with type 2 diabetes, insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity over several years. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study derived from the randomized Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study. Total serum fatty acid composition was measured using gas chromatography in 407 overweight, middle-aged people with impaired glucose tolerance at baseline (1993-1998) and annually during the intervention period (1994-2000). Longitudinal associations of 20 fatty acids and three desaturase activities (Δ5 (20:4n-6/20:3n-6, D5D), Δ6 (18:3n-6/18:2n-6, D6D), stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (16:1n-7/16:0, SCD-1)) with type 2 diabetes incidence, and estimates of insulin sensitivity (Matsuda), secretion (ratio of insulin and glucose concentrations) and ß-cell function (disposition index) by an oral glucose tolerance test were analyzed using Cox regression and linear mixed models. We validated estimated D5D and D6D using a known FADS1 gene variant, rs174550. RESULTS: The baseline proportions of 20:5n-3, 22:5n-3 and 22:6n-3, and D5D were associated with lower incidence of type 2 diabetes during a median follow-up of 11 years (HR per 1SD: 0.72, 0.74, 0.73, 0.78, respectively, P ≤ 0.01). These long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and D5D were associated with higher insulin sensitivity in subsequent years but not with disposition index. Saturated, monounsaturated and trans fatty acids and 18:3n-3, 18:2n-6, SCD-1 and D6D were inconsistently associated with type 2 diabetes or related traits. CONCLUSIONS: Serum long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and D5D predicted lower type 2 diabetes incidence in people at a high risk of diabetes attending to an intervention study; a putative mechanism behind these associations was higher insulin sensitivity.

Dietary fat in relation to erythrocyte fatty acid composition in men.

Erythrocyte membrane fatty acid (EMFA) composition is used in the validation of food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) and the evaluation of dietary fat quality. In this cross-sectional study we aimed to investigate associations of diet with EMFA. Altogether, 1,033 randomly selected Finnish men, aged from 47 to 75 years filled in a FFQ and their EMFA composition was analyzed. Marine polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake correlated positively with erythrocyte eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids (r(s) = 0.415 and r(s) = 0.340, respectively, P < 0.001) and inversely with all n-6 PUFA analyzed (P < 0.001). PUFA intake from spreads and cooking fats correlated positively with alpha-linolenic (ALA), linoleic (LNA) and nervonic acids (r(s) = 0.229, r(s) = 0.160 and r(s) = 0.143, respectively, P < 0.001). Milk fat intake was associated with myristic and behenic acids (r(s) = 0.186 and r(s) = 0.132, respectively P < 0.001). Butter users had lower ALA and LNA proportions (mol%) than non-users (0.16 ± 0.04 vs. 0.19 ± 0.05, P < 0.001 and 7.77 ± 1.02 vs. 8.12 ± 1.11, P = 0.001). Higher PUFA intake from meat was related to decreased long-chain n-3 (P < 0.001) and increased n-6 PUFA (P < 0.001) proportions. In conclusion, EMFA composition reflects particularly well the intakes of n-3 PUFA, whereas other associations remained lower. Yet, all main sources of dietary fat were related with EMFA. The dietary effect on the nervonic acid proportion was confirmed.