NUTRIENTS AND DNA METHYLATION ACROSS THE LIFE COURSE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF STUDIES IN HUMANS

• Published in: Annals of nutrition and metabolism 2017-10, Vol.71 (Suppl. 2), p.457
• Main Authors: Braun, Kim, Mandaviya, Pooja, Nano, Jana, Thomas, Carolin, Troup, Jenna, Muka, Taulant, Bramer, Wichor, Heil, Sandra, Franco, Oscar, Voortman, Trudy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescents; Adults; Blood levels; Cancer; Children; CpG islands; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Diet; Dietary intake; Dietary supplements; DNA; DNA methylation; Embryogenesis; Embryonic growth stage; Environmental factors; Epigenetics; Fatty acids; Folic acid; Genomes; Human nutrition; Metabolism; Nutrients; Nutrition; Offspring; Scientific papers; Search engines; Systematic review; Teenagers; Vitamin D
• ISSN: 0250-6807; 1421-9697
• DOI: 10.1159/000480486

Background and objectives: DNA methylation can be modified by environmental factors, including nutrition. The susceptibility to change of DNA methylation in response to nutrition is particularly high during early life. Nevertheless, nutrition has also been reported to be associated with DNA methylation in other stages of the life course, for instance, during adolescence and adulthood. In order to gain more insight in effects of several nutrients on DNA methylation across the life course, a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge is of importance. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review on the relationship between nutrients and DNA methylation in humans across the life course. Methods: The literature search was designed by an experienced biomedical information specialist. Six bibliographic databases (Embase.com, Medline (Ovid), Web-of-Science, PubMed, Cochrane Central and Google Scholar) were searched. We selected studies that examined the association between nutrients (blood levels; dietary intake; or dietary supplements) and DNA methylation (global, site specific or genome-wide) in humans of all ages. We did not apply any restrictions on year of publication or language. All abstracts, full text selection and data extraction was performed by two independent reviewers, with a third reviewer available for disagreements. Results: Of the 3774 references identified, 109 studies met our inclusion criteria. Of the included studies, 31 studies investigated the association between maternal nutrition and offspring DNA methylation, nine studies were carried out in subjects during infancy, childhood, or adolescence, and 69 studies were performed in adults. Several candidate gene and epigenome-wide association studies identified effects of nutrients, including folate, fatty acids, and vitamin D, on DNA methylation of CpG sites known to be involved in several health aspects, such as embryonic development and cancer. Conclusions: To date, promising results have been reported in the field of nutrition and DNA methylation in humans at different stages across the life-course. Especially for nutrients known to be involved in one-carbon metabolism, such as folate, but also others, such as fatty acids and vitamin D. However, further large-scale studies of high quality are needed to expand our understanding on the role of nutrition in DNA methylation and its effects on health and disease.