Carbohydrate intake modulates the effect of the ABCA1-R230C variant on HDL cholesterol concentrations in premenopausal women.

The R230C variant of the ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) gene has been consistently associated with decreased HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations in several studies in the Mexican mestizo population. However, information on how diet composition modifies the effect of the ABCA1-R230C variant on HDL-C concentrations is very scarce. The aim of the present study was to analyze whether the effect of ABCA1-R230C on HDL-C concentrations is modulated by dietary factors in a nationwide population sample of 3591 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Survey conducted by the State's Employees' Social Security and Social Services Institute. All participants answered a validated questionnaire to assess health status and weekly food consumption. Fasting blood samples were drawn for biochemical analysis and DNA extraction, and the ABCA1-R230C variant was genotyped using TaqMan assays. Statistical analyses consisted of simple linear and multiple regression modeling adjusting for age, BMI, smoking, and alcohol consumption. The overall C risk allele frequency was 9.3% and the variant was significantly associated with low HDL-C concentrations in both sexes. A significant negative correlation between carbohydrate consumption and HDL-C concentrations was observed in women bearing the R230C variant (P = 0.021) and a significant gene-diet interaction was found only in premenopausal women (P = 0.037). In conclusion, the effect of the ABCA1-R230C gene variant on HDL-C concentrations is modulated by carbohydrate intake in premenopausal women. This finding may help design optimized dietary interventions according to sex and ABCA1-R230C genotype.

Effect of BCG vaccination in asthmatic schoolchildren.

Recent studies have explored the effect of Bacilli Calmette-Guerin (BCG) or Mycobacterium vaccae vaccination in asthmatic patients, yielding conflicting results. We investigated the effect of BCG vaccination in asthmatic schoolchildren, especially focusing on the cytokine pattern released by mononuclear cells. After a 1-yr run-in period, 67 asthmatic schoolchildren received intradermal immunization with BCG (33 patients) or placebo (34 patients). Both groups were followed during 1 yr. Serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels did not change after BCG (407.1 +/- 86.6 vs. 415.1 +/- 86.7 IU/ml, mean +/- s.e.m.), but increased after placebo (406.7 +/- 67.0 vs. 619.7 +/- 90.7 IU/ml, p = 0.001) administration. Interleukin (IL)-4 and interferon (IFN)-gamma measured in the supernatant of stimulated cultured blood mononuclear cells did not change in the BCG group (10.8 +/- 2.3 vs. 17.9 +/- 5.7 pg/ml, and 348.6 +/- 118.0 vs. 354.8 +/- 139.0 pg/ml, respectively), while in the control group IL-4 increased (from 6.7 +/- 1.3 to 16.1 +/- 6.0 pg/ml, p < 0.05), and IFN-gamma decreased (from 279.9 +/- 82.1 to 232.1 +/- 109.6 pg/ml, p = 0.01). In comparison with their initial status, most patients maintained the same asthma severity and the same proportion of emergency room visits at the end of the study. The proportion of those in whom asthma improved or worsened was the same in both groups. We concluded that, contrary to the common hypothesis, BCG vaccination in asthmatic children was unable to cause a long-term reinforcement of Th(1) response, although it could avoid the increased Th(2) response observed in control patients.