Corrigendum to 'Replication of a gene-diet interaction at CD36, NOS3 and PPARG in response to omega-3 fatty acid supplements on blood lipids: A double-blind randomized controlled trial' (EBioMedicine May 2018;31:150–156)

Background Modulation of genetic variants on the effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplements on blood lipids is still unclear. Methods In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, 150 patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) were randomized into omega-3 fatty acid group (n = 56 for fish oil and 44 for flaxseed oil) and control group (n = 50) for 180 days. All patients were genotyped for genetic variants at CD36 (rs1527483), NOS3 (rs1799983) and PPARG (rs1801282). Linear regression was used to examine the interaction between omega-3 fatty acid intervention and CD36, NOS3 or PPARG variants for blood lipids. Findings Significant interaction with omega-3 fatty acid supplements was observed for CD36 on triglycerides (p-interaction = 0.042) and PPAGR on low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (p-interaction = 0.02). We also found a significant interaction between change in erythrocyte phospholipid omega-3 fatty acid composition and NOS3 genotype on triglycerides (p-interaction = 0.042), total cholesterol (p-interaction = 0.013) and ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p-interaction = 0.015). The T2D patients of CD36-G allele, PPARG-G allele and NOS3-A allele tended to respond better to omega-3 fatty acids in improving lipid profiles. The interaction results of the omega-3 fatty acid group were mainly attributed to the fish oil supplements. Interpretation This study suggests that T2D patients with different genotypes at CD36, NOS3 and PPARG respond differentially to intervention of omega-3 supplements in blood lipid profiles.
Highlights • We replicated the interactions of CD36, PPARG and NOS3 variants with omega-3 fatty acids in a randomized controlled trial. • T2D patients of CD36-G, PPARG-G and NOS3-A allele tended to respond better to omega-3 fatty acids in improving blood lipids. Lack of replication has become a major barrier affecting the acceleration of the field of gene-diet interaction and its translation into practice. Previous studies have suggested that genetic variants (single-nucleotide polymorphisms, SNP) at three genes (CD36, NOS3 and PPARG) showed interaction with omega-3 fatty acids to affect the blood lipids in the intervention studies, while no replication among trials has been reported so far. The present study, with data from a well-conducted randomized controlled trial, replicated the findings of the interaction between the three genes and omega-3 fatty acids.