FAME
Fatty Acid Metabolism – Interlinking Diet with Cardiometabolic Health
Background and aim
FAME aimed to a) identify novel lipidomics biomarkers as biomarkers of fatty acid status and of future cardiometabolic clinical events, b) establish relationships between diet and tissue status of fatty acids as explanatory factors for diet relationships with cardiometabolic health, and c) to investigate genetic determinants of fatty acid status and metabolism which modify the effects of dietary intake. FAME identified and validated novel lipid biomarkers with the strong potential to define targeted dietary intervention for prevention. FAME has made use of several existing RCTs (PREDIMED, CORDIOPREV, DIVAS, RESET, SATgene, FLAVURS, CIRCLES) and the large prospective cohort study EPIC-Potsdam on diet and chronic disease and their biobanks which provided the unique opportunity to evaluate lipid biomarkers as a reflection of dietary intake and as risk factors and mediators for cardiometabolic health in different methodological settings.
In WP1, new lipidomics profiles have been generated in the EPIC-Potsdam and CORDIOPREV. Analyses across different studies revealed several novel lipid markers related to cardiometabolic disease. E.g. significant association between a score composed of a combination of lipids and heart failure risk was found in the PREDIMED and replicated in EPIC-Potsdam. Also, lipids were identified to be associated with type 2 diabetes or CVD and were furthermore demonstrated to be partially influenced by modifying the fat composition of the diet in a randomized intervention study (DIVAS).
In WP2, health benefits and potential novel biomarkers of dairy consumption have been investigated. In the French prospective cohort NutriNet-Santé, consumption of fermented dairy was associated with a lower risk of cerebrovascular disease. A specific method allowing optimal separation of dairy specific fatty acids have been developed and used for profiling in different RCTs. Furthermore, odd-chain saturated fatty acids have been linked to cardiometabolic risk in different studies, e.g. PREDIMED, CORRIOPREV and EPIC-Potsdam, also by use of deep lipidomics characterization of lipids containing such fatty acids.
In WP3, genetic and dietary modulators of response to dietary FA intake were evaluated in terms of their effect on FA composition and cardiometabolic risk. Fatty acid profiles were generated in about 5000 samples from participants of different RCTs. Genetic variants involved in PUFA metabolism were shown to affect PUFA tissue response to a supplementation with nuts in PREDIMED and further analyses on interactions between genetic variants in PUFA metabolism genes and intake or status of n-6 and (long-chain) n-3 PUFA have been investigated in RCTs and cohorts.
Expected impact
Results of the project will help refine current dietary guidelines and the targeting of interventions aimed at improved cardiometabolic health towards those most likely to be at risk of disease and/or be most responsive.
Consortium
| Partner Organization | Partner Country |
|---|---|
| University of Reading | United Kingdom |
| Reina Sofia University Hospital | Spain |
| University of Cordoba | Spain |
| Maimonides Institute for Biomedical Research | Spain |
| Instituto de Salud Carlos III, | Spain |
| University of Navarra Medical School | Spain |
| University of East Anglia | United Kingdom |
Highlights
FAME generated detailed fatty acid profiles and novel lipidomics markers in a variety of randomized controlled trials, related to whole diets (PREDIMED, CORDIOPREV), controlled dietary fat manipulation (DIVAS, RESET, SATgene) and to non-fat dietary determinants of fat metabolism (FLAVURS, CIRCLES), as well as the large prospective cohort EPIC-Potsdam. FAME observed associations of novel lipid markers with risk cardiometabolic diseases, and demonstrated that associated lipids are modifiable by diet interventions. Novel biomarkers for diary intake have been identified, which allow in depth evaluation of the role of dairy foods for cardiometabolic diseases. The project also identified genetic determinants of circulating lipids, which potentially modify the response to dietary fat intake, specifically polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Products
Author: Wittenbecher C*, Eichelmann F*, Toledo E*, Guasch-Ferré M, Ruiz-Canela M*, Li J, Arós F, Lee CH, Liang L, Salas-Salvadó J, Clish CB, Schulze MB*, Martínez-González MÁ*, Hu FB
Link: https://doi.org/10.1161/circresaha.120.317883
Reports
Endreport
Results of the project will help refine current dietary guidelines and the targeting of interventions aimed at improved cardiometabolic health towards those most likely to be at risk of disease and/or be most responsive.
- The identification of novel biomarkers of cardiometabolic health and future risk of T2DM and CVD beyond classical risk factors could be incorporated into existing prediction models, e.g. the German Diabetes Risk Score developed at project partner DIfE (http://www.dife.de/diabetes-risiko-test). More precise prediction algorithms allow the better targeting of monitoring programs and prevention interventions to those at risk. Given that the project also demonstrated the impact of diet composition on these novel markers, the project also provides the knowledge base to modify risk through dietary intervention with the aim to achieve long-term cardiometabolic health.
- In Europe between 17-41% of dietary SFA is derived from dairy products. Given that the effect of high SFA intake on cardiometabolic intermediate biomarkers (lipids, blood pressure and insulin resistance) and cardiometabolic risk (T2DM, CVD) may be differential by distinct subgroups of SFA or their main food sources (dairy SFA associated with reduced cardiometabolic outcomes), it is a priority to establish the impact of dairy and other SFA on cardiometabolic health.
- Common gene variants which determine the response to PUFA intake and thus intake-health end-point associations may in the future be used to stratify dietary FA recommendations to individuals more likely to be responsive or deficient.
- Information on other dietary determinants of PUFA metabolism beyond FAs are informative as it provides, a) novel approaches to optimize tissue PUFA status, b) extend current knowledge regarding the molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying the cardiometabolic benefits of a plant-based diet, and c) contribute to the refinement of the current rather generic dietary recommendations for the intakes of plant based foods such as fruit and vegetables.
Communication & Dissemination Activities
| Target group | Authors | Means of communication |
|---|---|---|
| Academics, scientists, students, industry, media, policy makers | Anne Marie Minihane (UEA) “Fish, omega-3 fatty acids and cognition”, Irish Nutrition Society Conference, June 2021 | Presentation |
| Academics, scientists, students, industry, media, policy makers, public | Julie Lovegrove (UoR). Richard Doll Seminar on Public Health and Epidemiology. “ Dietary Dilemmas over fats and cardiometabolic health”. Oxford. (Virtual). May 2021 | Presentation |
| Academics, scientists, students | Marcela Prada (DIfE) "Association of the odd-chain fatty acids in lipid classes with type 2 diabetes risk and dietary variables in the EPIC-Potsdam cohort" European Diabetes Epidemiology Group Conference, 2021 | Presentation |
| Academics, scientists, students, industry, media, policy makers | Julie Lovegrove (UoR) “Dietary dilemma in fats and CVD” Korean Nutrition Society Meeting. Seoul, South Korea (Virtual). May 2020 | Presentation |
| Academics, scientists, students, industry, media, policy makers, public | Julie Lovegrove. “Saturated fats and health. British Nutrition Foundation. Webinar. May 2020 | Webinar |
| Academics, scientists, students, industry, media, policy makers | Anne Marie Minihane (UEA) “Dietary pattern and Cardiovascular Health”, World Congress on Oils & Fats, Sydney, Australia, Feb 2020 | Presentation |
| Academics, scientists, students, industry, media, policy makers | DIfE, UoR, UEA, UoN, UoC: “Fatty Acid Metabolism – Interlinking Diet with Cardiometabolic Health”, FENS Congress, Dublin, Ireland, October 2019 | Symposium |
| Academics, scientists, students, industry, media, policy makers | Matthias Schulze (DIfE) “The FAME Project - an overview”, FENS Congress, FAME Symposium, Dublin, Ireland, October 2019 | Presentation |
| Academics, scientists, students, industry, media, policy makers | Anne Marie Minihane (UEA) “The influence of genotype on fatty acid status and its impact on cardio-metabolic health” FENS Congress, FAME Symposium, Dublin, Ireland, October 2019 | Presentation |
| Academics, scientists, students, industry, media, policy makers | Julie Lovegrove (UoR) “Impact of dairy on human health: biomarkers of intake and cardiovascular risk” FENS Congress, FAME Symposium, Dublin, Ireland, October 2019 | Presentation |
| Academics, scientists, students, industry, media, policy makers | Miguel Ruiz-Canela (UoN) “Lipidomics and cardiometabolic risk in PREDIMED”, FENS Congress, FAME Symposium, Dublin, Ireland, October 2019 | Presentation |
| Academics, scientists, students, industry, media | Susanne Jäger (DIfE) “Evaluation of the causal effect of desaturase activity on the risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease” European Society of Human Genetics Conference, 2020 | Presentation |
| Scientists, Funding bodies | Matthias Schulze (DIfE) DIfE Scientific Evaluation, Potsdam, 2019 | Presentation |
| Scientists, students and Industry | Anne-Marie Minihane (UEA), Food Actives and Health Conference, Lisbon, 2019 | Presentation |
| Scientists, students and industry professionals | Anne-Marie Minihane (UEA), ILSI Europe Scientific Advisory Committee | Expert panel |
| Scientists, students and industry professionals | Julie Lovegrove, Laury Sellem, Kim ackson (UoR). “Individual saturated fatty acid substitution and CVD health. ILSI Expert group | Expert panel |
| Academics, scientists, students | Alejandro Villasanta (UoC) "La lipemia postprandial precede al desarrollo de diabetes tipo 2: estudio CORDIOPREV" XXXII Congreso SEA. Valencia; Spain June 2019 | Symposium |
| Academics, scientists, students | Julie Lovegrove (UoR) Rank Prize Symposium “Dairy Products and the Life Cycle – Emerging Evidence” Grasmere, UK. September 2018 | Presentation |
| Academics, scientists, students | Laury Sellem (UoR) Rank Prize Symposium “Dairy Products and the Life Cycle – Emerging Evidence” Grasmere, UK. September 2018 | Presentation |
| Academics, scientists, students, industry, media, policy makers | Julie Lovegrove (UoR) Nutrition Society Winter Meeting.“Diet and Cardiometabolic Risk” London, UK December 2018 | Presentation |
| Scientists, students and Industry | Laury Sellem (UoR), Hugh Sinclair Nutrition Symposium, Reading, 2018 | Presentation |
| Scientists, students and industry professionals | Laury Sellem (UoR), IFST Young Scientist Competition, London, 2018 | Presentation |
| Industry, academia, media | Anne Marie Minihane (UEA) Food Matters Live Conference, London, UK, 2017 | Chairing |
| Industry, policy maker | Anne Marie Minihane (UEA), Personalised Nutrition Conference, Brussels, Belgium, 2017 | Presentation |
| Industry, students, policy maker, media | Anne Marie Minihane (UEA), BNF Webinar, 2017 | Presentation/webinar |
| Industry, media, academia | Anne Marie Minihane (UEA) International Congress on Nutrition and Integrative Medicine, Sappora, Japan, 2017 | Presentation |