Diet-gene interactions between dietary fat intake and common polymorphisms in determining lipid metabolism

Abstract

Current dietary guidelines for fat intake have not taken into consideration the possible genetic differences underlying the individual variability in responsiveness to dietary components. Genetic variability has been identified in humans for all the known lipid metabolim-related genes resulting In a plethora of candidate genes and genetic variants to examine in diet-gene Interaction studies focused on fat consumption. Some examples of fat-gene interaction are reviewed. These include: the interaction between total intake and the -514C/T In the hepatic lipase gene promoter in determining high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) metabolism; the interaction between polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and the 75G/A polymorphism in the APOA1 gene plasma HDL-C concentrations; the interaction between PUFA and the L162V polymorphism in the PPARA gene in determining triglycerides and APOC3 concentrations; and the interaction between PUFA intake and the -1131T>C in the APOA5 gene in determining triglyceride metabolism. Although hundreds of diet-gene interaction studies in lipid metabolism have been published, the level of evidence to make specific nutritional recommendations to the population is still low and more research in nutrigenetics has to be undertaken.