DNA Damage, n-3 Long-Chain PUFA Levels and Proteomic Profile in Brazilian Children and Adolescents

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 13; no. 8; p. 2483
• Main Authors: Barros, Tamiris Trevisan de, Venancio, Vinicius de Paula, Hernandes, Lívia Cristina, Antunes, Lusania Maria Greggi, Hillesheim, Elaine, Salomão, Roberta Garcia, Mathias, Mariana Giaretta, Coelho-Landell, Carolina Almeida, Toffano, Roseli Borges Donegá, Almada, Maria Olimpia Ribeiro do Vale, Camelo-Junior, José Simon, Moco, Sofia, Cominetti, Ornella, Ued, Fábio da Veiga, Kaput, Jim, Monteiro, Jacqueline Pontes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 21.07.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Adolescents; Blood levels; Body mass index; Cell cycle; child; Children; Comet assay; Cyclin-dependent kinases; Damage detection; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA damage; Docosahexaenoic acid; Eicosapentaenoic acid; Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; Fatty acids; Gene expression; Inflammation; Nutrition; Omega-3 fatty acids; Physiology; Proteins; proteomic; Proteomics; Teenagers; Toxicity; Unsaturated fatty acids; Urban areas; Brazil; United States > US
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu13082483

Fatty acids play a significant role in maintaining cellular and DNA protection and we previously found an inverse relationship between blood levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and DNA damage. The aim of this study was to explore differences in proteomic profiles, for 117 pro-inflammatory proteins, in two previously defined groups of individuals with different DNA damage and EPA and DHA levels. Healthy children and adolescents (n = 140) aged 9 to 13 years old in an urban area of Brazil were divided by k-means cluster test into two clusters of DNA damage (tail intensity) using the comet assay (cluster 1 = 5.9% ± 1.2 and cluster 2 = 13.8% ± 3.1) in our previous study. The cluster with higher DNA damage and lower levels of DHA (6.2 ± 1.6 mg/dL; 5.4 ± 1.3 mg/dL, p = 0.003) and EPA (0.6 ± 0.2 mg/dL; 0.5 ± 0.1 mg/dL, p < 0.001) presented increased expression of the proteins CDK8–CCNC, PIK3CA–PIK3R1, KYNU, and PRKCB, which are involved in pro-inflammatory pathways. Our findings support the hypothesis that low levels of n-3 long-chain PUFA may have a less protective role against DNA damage through expression of pro-inflammatory proteins, such as CDK8–CCNC, PIK3CA–PIK3R1, KYNU, and PRKCB.