Adherence to Mediterranean diet is associated with methylation changes in inflammation-related genes in peripheral blood cells

Abstract

Epigenetic processes, including DNA methylation, might be modulated by environmental factors such as the diet, which in turn have been associated with the onset of several diseases such as obesity or cardiovascular events. Meanwhile, Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) has demonstrated favourable effects on cardiovascular risk, blood pressure, inflammation and other complications related to excessive adiposity. Some of these effects could be mediated by epigenetic modifications. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate whether the adherence to MedDiet is associated with changes in the methylation status from peripheral blood cells. A subset of 36 individuals was selected within the Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea (PREDIMED)-Navarra study, a randomised, controlled, parallel trial with three groups of intervention in high cardiovascular risk volunteers, two with a MedDiet and one low-fat control group. Changes in methylation between baseline and 5 years were studied. DNA methylation arrays were analysed by several robust statistical tests and functional classifications. Eight genes related to inflammation and immunocompetence (EEF2, COL18A1, IL4I1, LEPR, PLAGL1, IFRD1, MAPKAPK2, PPARGC1B) were finally selected as changes in their methylation levels correlated with adherence to MedDiet and because they presented sensitivity related to a high variability in methylation changes. Additionally, EEF2 methylation levels positively correlated with concentrations of TNF-α and CRP. This report is apparently the first showing that adherence to MedDiet is associated with the methylation of the reported genes related to inflammation with a potential regulatory impact.

Dopamine gene methylation patterns are associated with obesity markers and carbohydrate intake

“…WBCs were immediately frozen at −80°C in buffy coat until use as described elsewhere (Arpón et al., 2016). Genomic DNA was extracted from WBC using the Master Pure DNA purification kit (Epicentre Biotechnologies, Madison, WI, USA) following instructions provided by the supplier.…”

Nutrition and Genetics in NAFLD: The Perfect Binomium

“…Bioactive substances, such as polyphenols, flavonoids, fish-derived oils and, in general, compounds enriched in the MedDiet, predominantly consisting of fruits and vegetables, have shown systemic benefits as preventive and curative molecules for metabolic diseases, cardiovascular risk and cancer [163][164][165][166]. Regular intake of MedDiet with coenzyme Q10 (Med + CoQ diet) has been associated with a lower expression of genes involved in inflammation, ER/oxidative stress and DNA damage in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PMBCs) of 63 volunteers [166].…”

“…They found that Med + CoQ protects against ROS overproduction through mitigating the expression of oxidative, inflammatory and fibrotic markers, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) 1/2 and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 9 [165]. Interestingly, either bariatric surgery or energetic restriction through MedDiet, used as obesity treatment, may also epigenetically modulate the expression of some of these markers influencing global DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation [164,167]. A high-protein diet improved hepatic steatosis in a mouse model of NAFLD independently of high fat and carbohydrate intake by increasing the lipid and branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) catabolism, enhancing mitochondrial oxidative ability and reducing fatty acid desaturation, ER stress and unfolded protein response [168].…”

Guide for Current Nutrigenetic, Nutrigenomic, and Nutriepigenetic Approaches for Precision Nutrition Involving the Prevention and Management of Chronic Diseases Associated with Obesity

“…Thus, several experimental studies have investigated the epigenetic mechanisms underlying the health effects of certain nutrients and bioactive food components (Table 6). For instance, it was found that the anti-inflammatory effects of consuming a Mediterranean diet were related to hypermethylation of proinflammatory genes [84,85]. The administrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids positively modulated the expression of several miRNAs, which suppressed oncogenic and lipogenic genes [86,87].…”