Lower estimates of δ-5 desaturase and elongase activity are related to adverse profiles for several metabolic risk factors in young Japanese women

Murakami, Kentaro; Sasaki, Satoshi; Takahashi, Yoshiko; Uenishi, Kazuhiro; Watanabe, Tomoko; Kohri, Toshiyuki; Yamasaki, Mitsuyo; Watanabe, Reiko; Baba, Keiko; Shibata, Katsumi; Takahashi, Toru; Hayabuchi, Hitomi; Ohki, Kazuko; Suzuki, Junko

doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2008.08.009

« Previous Next »Nutrition Research
Volume 28, Issue 12 , Pages 816-824, December 2008

Lower estimates of δ-5 desaturase and elongase activity are related to adverse profiles for several metabolic risk factors in young Japanese women

Kentaro Murakami
- Department of Social and Preventive Epidemiology, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Satoshi Sasaki
- Department of Social and Preventive Epidemiology, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 3 5841 7872; fax: +81 3 5841 7873.
Yoshiko Takahashi
- Department of Health and Nutrition, School of Home Economics, Wayo Women's University, Chiba 272-8533, Japan
Kazuhiro Uenishi
- Laboratory of Physiological Nutrition, Kagawa Nutrition University, Saitama 350-0288, Japan
Tomoko Watanabe
- Department of Nutrition, Chiba College of Health Science, Chiba 261-0014, Japan
Toshiyuki Kohri
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Agriculture, Kinki University, Nara 631-8505, Japan
Mitsuyo Yamasaki
- Department of Health and Nutrition Science, Faculty of Health and Social Welfare Science, Nishikyushu University, Saga 842-8585, Japan
Reiko Watanabe
- Department of Human Life Environments, Course of Food and Nutrition, Niigata Women's College, Niigata 950-8680, Japan
Keiko Baba
- Department of Nutrition, Mie Chukyo University Junior College, Mie 515-8511, Japan
Katsumi Shibata
- Department of Life Style Studies, Laboratories of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Human Cultures, The University of Shiga Prefecture, Shiga 522-8533, Japan
Toru Takahashi
- Graduate School of Human Life Science, Mimasaka University, Okayama 708-8511, Japan
Hitomi Hayabuchi
- Department of Human Environmental Science, Fukuoka Women's University, Fukuoka 813-8529, Japan
Kazuko Ohki
- Graduate School of Science for Living System, Showa Women's University, Tokyo 154-8533, Japan
Junko Suzuki
- Department of Health and Nutrition, Faculty of Human Sciences, Hokkaido Bunkyo University, Hokkaido 061-1449, Japan

Received 14 July 2008; received in revised form 20 August 2008; accepted 26 August 2008.

Abstract

Little is known about the relation between the activities of certain enzymes involved in endogenous fatty acid synthesis and metabolic risk factors, particularly in young adults and non-Western populations. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the associations between estimated desaturase and elongase activities and metabolic risk factors in young Japanese women. The subjects were 640 female Japanese dietetic students aged 18 to 22 years. Body height and weight, from which body mass index (BMI) was derived, waist circumference, and blood pressure were measured. Fasting blood samples were collected for biochemical and fatty acid measurements. Desaturase and elongase enzyme activities were estimated as the ratio of product to precursor of individual fatty acids in serum lipids. δ-9 desaturase activity was positively associated with BMI, diastolic blood pressure, total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triacylglycerol and was negatively associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P ≤ .019). δ-6 desaturase activity showed positive associations with BMI, systolic blood pressure, triacylglycerol, and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (P ≤ .045). δ-5 desaturase activity showed independent negative associations with BMI, systolic blood pressure, triacylglycerol, insulin, and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (P ≤ .007). Elongase activity was associated negatively with BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and triacylglycerol and was positively associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P ≤ .026). In conclusion, increased estimates of δ-9 and δ-6 desaturase activity and decreased estimates of δ-5 desaturase and elongase activity were associated with adverse profiles for several metabolic risk factors in young Japanese women.

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index, D5D, δ-5 desaturase, D6D, δ-6 desaturase, D9D, δ-9 desaturase, HbA_1c, glycated hemoglobin, HDL, high-density lipoprotein, HOMA-IR, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, LDL, low-density lipoprotein