TY - JOUR

T1 - Plasma homocysteine concentrations in Greek children are influenced by an interaction between the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T genotype and folate status

AU - Papoutsakis, Constantina

AU - Yiannakouris, Nikos

AU - Manios, Yannis

AU - Papaconstantinou, Evaggelos

AU - Magkos, Faidon

AU - Schulpis, Kleopatra H

AU - Zampelas, Antonis

AU - Matalas, Antonia L

N1 - (Ekstern)

PY - 2005

Y1 - 2005

N2 - Risk factors established at young ages may set the stage for later cardiovascular disease (CVD). Elevated total homocysteine (tHcy) in blood is an emerging risk factor for CVD, yet few studies have been conducted in children, especially in the Mediterranean. We described plasma tHcy concentrations in a group of healthy Greek children and examined its relation with physiologic, metabolic, and genetic variables. Fasting blood samples were collected from 186 students, 11.6 +/- 0.4 years old, and tHcy, folate, vitamin B-12, and routine biochemistry variables in plasma were measured. The methylenetetrahydrolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T genotype was determined and anthropometric and dietary data were obtained. The distribution of tHcy was positively skewed with a median of 7.9 micromol/L (mean: 8.2 +/- 2.3 micromol/L; range: 4.4-22.2 micromol/L). tHcy was inversely related to plasma folate (r = -0.34, P < 0.0001), vitamin B-12 (r = -0.20, P = 0.008), and glucose (r = -0.15, P = 0.045). An interaction between the MTHFR genotype and plasma folate on tHcy was detected (P = 0.047). Specifically, the homozygous mutant TT genotype was associated with higher tHcy only in children with lower plasma folate (< 19.9 nmol/L), (P = 0.012). In our sample of healthy Greek children, plasma tHcy concentrations were higher than values reported in children of Northern European descent and were associated with folate, vitamin B-12, and glucose in plasma. The results also show that, similar to adults, plasma folate concentration is important in determining the contribution of the MTHFR C677T mutation to tHcy concentrations in children.

AB - Risk factors established at young ages may set the stage for later cardiovascular disease (CVD). Elevated total homocysteine (tHcy) in blood is an emerging risk factor for CVD, yet few studies have been conducted in children, especially in the Mediterranean. We described plasma tHcy concentrations in a group of healthy Greek children and examined its relation with physiologic, metabolic, and genetic variables. Fasting blood samples were collected from 186 students, 11.6 +/- 0.4 years old, and tHcy, folate, vitamin B-12, and routine biochemistry variables in plasma were measured. The methylenetetrahydrolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T genotype was determined and anthropometric and dietary data were obtained. The distribution of tHcy was positively skewed with a median of 7.9 micromol/L (mean: 8.2 +/- 2.3 micromol/L; range: 4.4-22.2 micromol/L). tHcy was inversely related to plasma folate (r = -0.34, P < 0.0001), vitamin B-12 (r = -0.20, P = 0.008), and glucose (r = -0.15, P = 0.045). An interaction between the MTHFR genotype and plasma folate on tHcy was detected (P = 0.047). Specifically, the homozygous mutant TT genotype was associated with higher tHcy only in children with lower plasma folate (< 19.9 nmol/L), (P = 0.012). In our sample of healthy Greek children, plasma tHcy concentrations were higher than values reported in children of Northern European descent and were associated with folate, vitamin B-12, and glucose in plasma. The results also show that, similar to adults, plasma folate concentration is important in determining the contribution of the MTHFR C677T mutation to tHcy concentrations in children.

KW - Biomarkers/blood

KW - Child

KW - Coronary Disease/epidemiology

KW - Female

KW - Folic Acid/blood

KW - Genotype

KW - Greece

KW - Homocysteine/blood

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2)/genetics

KW - Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

KW - Risk Factors

U2 - 10.1093/jn/135.3.383

DO - 10.1093/jn/135.3.383

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 15735067

VL - 135

SP - 383

EP - 388

JO - Journal of Nutrition

JF - Journal of Nutrition

SN - 0022-3166

IS - 3

ER -