Genetic Variation in Innate Immunity, Diet and Biomarkers of the Metabolic Syndrome

• Main Author: Cuda, Cristina Caterina
• Other Authors: El-Sohemy, Ahmed
• Language: en_ca
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Genetics; Toll-like receptor 4; Nucleotide binding oligomerization domain 1 and 2; dietary fat; metabolic syndrome; 0570
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/24551

Chronic low-grade inflammation is associated the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and may contribute to its development. A diet high in saturated fat (SFA) has been associated with increased inflammation and development of the MetS. SFAs have been shown to elicit pro-inflammatory signaling through proteins of innate immunity, TLR4 and Nods 1 and 2. We determined whether common polymorphisms in the genes of these proteins could modify the association between fat intake and biomarkers of the MetS. Fat intake was measured using a food frequency questionnaire and genotyping was completed using real-time PCR. The TLR4 Asp299Gly (rs4986790) polymorphism was associated with decreased insulin sensitivity while an intronic polymorphism (rs5030728) modified the association between dietary SFA and HDL-cholesterol. The Nod1 Glu266Lys polymorphism modified the association between dietary SFA and HOMA-IR. These results suggest a role for innate immunity in mediating some of the effects of dietary SFAs on factors associated with the MetS.