Proteomic and metabolomic correlates of healthy dietary patterns: the Framingham Heart Study

• Main Authors: Walker, Maura E. (Author), Song, Rebecca J. (Author), Xu, Xiang (Author), Gerszten, Robert E. (Author), Ngo, Debby (Author), Clish, Clary (Author), Corlin, Laura (Author), Ma, Jiantao (Author), Xanthakis, Vanessa (Author), Jacques, Paul F. (Author), Vasan, Ramachandran S. (Author)
• Other Authors: Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2020-06-09T14:56:44Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

Data on proteomic and metabolomic signatures of healthy dietary patterns are limited. We evaluated the cross-sectional association of serum proteomic and metabolomic markers with three dietary patterns: the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet; and a Mediterranean-style (MDS) diet. We examined participants from the Framingham Offspring Study (mean age; 55 years; 52% women) who had complete proteomic (n = 1713) and metabolomic (n = 2284) data; using food frequency questionnaires to derive dietary pattern indices. Proteins and metabolites were quantified using the SomaScan platform and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry; respectively. We used multivariable-adjusted linear regression models to relate each dietary pattern index (independent variables) to each proteomic and metabolomic marker (dependent variables). Of the 1373 proteins; 103 were associated with at least one dietary pattern (48 with AHEI; 83 with DASH; and 8 with MDS; all false discovery rate [FDR] ≤ 0.05). We identified unique associations between dietary patterns and proteins (17 with AHEI; 52 with DASH; and 3 with MDS; all FDR ≤ 0.05). Significant proteins enriched biological pathways involved in cellular metabolism/proliferation and immune response/inflammation. Of the 216 metabolites; 65 were associated with at least one dietary pattern (38 with AHEI; 43 with DASH; and 50 with MDS; all FDR ≤ 0.05). All three dietary patterns were associated with a common signature of 24 metabolites (63% lipids). Proteins and metabolites associated with dietary patterns may help characterize intermediate phenotypes that provide insights into the molecular mechanisms mediating diet-related disease. Our findings warrant replication in independent populations. Keywords: dietary patterns; diet quality; proteomic; metabolomic; biomarker
NIH Multidisciplinary Training Program in Cardiovascular Epidemiology (grant no. 5T32HL125232)
NIH National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Framingham Heart Study (contract nos. NO1-HC-25195, HHSN268201500001I, 75N92019D00031, P20 HL113444, P30 DK020579)
NIH (grant nos. R01 DK108159, R01 HL132320, R01 DK081572, R01 HL133870, R01 AG063507)