Fatty acid metabolism and colon cancer protection by dietary methyl donor restriction

A methyl donor depleted (MDD) diet dramatically suppresses intestinal tumor development in Apc-mutant mice, but the mechanism of this prevention is not entirely clear.

We sought to gain insight into the mechanisms of cancer suppression by the MDD diet and to identify biomarkers of cancer risk reduction.

A plasma metabolomic analysis was performed on Apc^Δ14/+ mice maintained on either a methyl donor sufficient (MDS) diet or the protective MDD diet. A group of MDS animals was also pair-fed with the MDD mice to normalize caloric intake, and another group was shifted from an MDD to MDS diet to determine the durability of the metabolic changes.

In addition to the anticipated changes in folate one-carbon metabolites, plasma metabolites related to fatty acid metabolism were generally decreased by the MDD diet, including carnitine, acylcarnitines, and fatty acids. Some fatty acid selectivity was observed; the levels of cancer-promoting arachidonic acid and 2-hydroxyglutarate were decreased by the MDD diet, whereas eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) levels were increased. Machine-learning elastic net analysis revealed a positive association between the fatty acid-related compounds azelate and 7-hydroxycholesterol and tumor development, and a negative correlation with succinate and β-sitosterol.

Methyl donor restriction causes dramatic changes in systemic fatty acid metabolism. Regulating fatty acid metabolism through methyl donor restriction favorably effects fatty acid profiles to achieve cancer protection.