@article {6567, title = {Genome-wide association study of plasma N6 polyunsaturated fatty acids within the cohorts for heart and aging research in genomic epidemiology consortium.}, journal = {Circ Cardiovasc Genet}, volume = {7}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Jun}, pages = {321-331}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Omega6 (n6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and their metabolites are involved in cell signaling, inflammation, clot formation, and other crucial biological processes. Genetic components, such as variants of fatty acid desaturase (FADS) genes, determine the composition of n6 PUFAs.

METHODS AND RESULTS: To elucidate undiscovered biological pathways that may influence n6 PUFA composition, we conducted genome-wide association studies and meta-analyses of associations of common genetic variants with 6 plasma n6 PUFAs in 8631 white adults (55\% women) across 5 prospective studies. Plasma phospholipid or total plasma fatty acids were analyzed by similar gas chromatography techniques. The n6 fatty acids linoleic acid (LA), γ-linolenic acid (GLA), dihomo-GLA, arachidonic acid, and adrenic acid were expressed as percentage of total fatty acids. We performed linear regression with robust SEs to test for single-nucleotide polymorphism-fatty acid associations, with pooling using inverse-variance-weighted meta-analysis. Novel regions were identified on chromosome 10 associated with LA (rs10740118; P=8.1{\texttimes}10(-9); near NRBF2), on chromosome 16 with LA, GLA, dihomo-GLA, and arachidonic acid (rs16966952; P=1.2{\texttimes}10(-15), 5.0{\texttimes}10(-11), 7.6{\texttimes}10(-65), and 2.4{\texttimes}10(-10), respectively; NTAN1), and on chromosome 6 with adrenic acid after adjustment for arachidonic acid (rs3134950; P=2.1{\texttimes}10(-10); AGPAT1). We confirmed previous findings of the FADS cluster on chromosome 11 with LA and arachidonic acid, and further observed novel genome-wide significant association of this cluster with GLA, dihomo-GLA, and adrenic acid (P=2.3{\texttimes}10(-72), 2.6{\texttimes}10(-151), and 6.3{\texttimes}10(-140), respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that along with the FADS gene cluster, additional genes may influence n6 PUFA composition.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Chromosomes, Human, Pair 10, Chromosomes, Human, Pair 16, Chromosomes, Human, Pair 6, Fatty Acid Desaturases, Fatty Acids, Omega-6, Female, Genome-Wide Association Study, Genomics, Heart Diseases, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Prospective Studies, Sequence Analysis, DNA}, issn = {1942-3268}, doi = {10.1161/CIRCGENETICS.113.000208}, author = {Guan, Weihua and Steffen, Brian T and Lemaitre, Rozenn N and Wu, Jason H Y and Tanaka, Toshiko and Manichaikul, Ani and Foy, Millennia and Rich, Stephen S and Wang, Lu and Nettleton, Jennifer A and Tang, Weihong and Gu, Xiangjun and Bandinelli, Stafania and King, Irena B and McKnight, Barbara and Psaty, Bruce M and Siscovick, David and Djouss{\'e}, Luc and Chen, Yii-Der Ida and Ferrucci, Luigi and Fornage, Myriam and Mozafarrian, Dariush and Tsai, Michael Y and Steffen, Lyn M} } @article {6615, title = {Genetic loci associated with circulating levels of very long-chain saturated fatty acids.}, journal = {J Lipid Res}, volume = {56}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Jan}, pages = {176-84}, abstract = {

Very long-chain saturated fatty acids (VLSFAs) are saturated fatty acids with 20 or more carbons. In contrast to the more abundant saturated fatty acids, such as palmitic acid, there is growing evidence that circulating VLSFAs may have beneficial biological properties. Whether genetic factors influence circulating levels of VLSFAs is not known. We investigated the association of common genetic variation with plasma phospholipid/erythrocyte levels of three VLSFAs by performing genome-wide association studies in seven population-based cohorts comprising 10,129 subjects of European ancestry. We observed associations of circulating VLSFA concentrations with common variants in two genes, serine palmitoyl-transferase long-chain base subunit 3 (SPTLC3), a gene involved in the rate-limiting step of de novo sphingolipid synthesis, and ceramide synthase 4 (CERS4). The SPTLC3 variant at rs680379 was associated with higher arachidic acid (20:0 , P = 5.81 {\texttimes} 10(-13)). The CERS4 variant at rs2100944 was associated with higher levels of 20:0 (P = 2.65 {\texttimes} 10(-40)) and in analyses that adjusted for 20:0, with lower levels of behenic acid (P = 4.22 {\texttimes} 10(-26)) and lignoceric acid (P = 3.20 {\texttimes} 10(-21)). These novel associations suggest an inter-relationship of circulating VLSFAs and sphingolipid synthesis.

}, keywords = {Cohort Studies, Fatty Acids, Genetic Loci, Genetic Variation, Genome-Wide Association Study, Humans}, issn = {1539-7262}, doi = {10.1194/jlr.M052456}, author = {Lemaitre, Rozenn N and King, Irena B and Kabagambe, Edmond K and Wu, Jason H Y and McKnight, Barbara and Manichaikul, Ani and Guan, Weihua and Sun, Qi and Chasman, Daniel I and Foy, Millennia and Wang, Lu and Zhu, Jingwen and Siscovick, David S and Tsai, Michael Y and Arnett, Donna K and Psaty, Bruce M and Djouss{\'e}, Luc and Chen, Yii-der I and Tang, Weihong and Weng, Lu-Chen and Wu, Hongyu and Jensen, Majken K and Chu, Audrey Y and Jacobs, David R and Rich, Stephen S and Mozaffarian, Dariush and Steffen, Lyn and Rimm, Eric B and Hu, Frank B and Ridker, Paul M and Fornage, Myriam and Friedlander, Yechiel} }