Novel Interactions of Myristic Acid and FADS3 Variants Predict Atopic Dermatitis among Indonesian Infants

Fatty acids exert a range of different biological activities that could be relevant in the development of atopic dermatitis (AD). This study investigated the association of glycerophospholipid fatty acids (GPL-FA) with AD, and their interactions with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the FADS1-3 gene cluster. Among 390 infants of the Indonesian ISADI study, GPL-FA were measured in umbilical plasma (P-0y) and in buccal cells at birth (B-0y), and again in buccal cells at AD onset or one year (B-1y). Prospective and cross-sectional associations with AD were assessed by logistic regression. Interactions of GPL-FA with 14 SNP were tested assuming an additive model. AD was diagnosed in 15.4% of participants. In B-1y, C18:2n-6 was inversely associated with AD; and positive associations were observed for C18:1n-9, C20:4n-6, C22:6n-3 and C20:4n-6/C18:2n-6. There were no prospective associations with AD, however, a significant interaction between the SNP rs174449 and B-0y C14:0 (myristic acid) was observed. This study indicates that Indonesian infants with AD have increased rates of endogenous long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid production, as well as higher C18:1n-9 levels. GPL-FA measured at birth do not predict later AD incidence; however, genotype interactions reveal novel effects of myristic acid, which are modified by a FADS3 variant.