Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 A379V variant is associated with body composition changes in response to exercise training

Lipoprotein-associated PLA2 (Lp-PLA2) hydrolyses the sn-2 position of glycerophospholipids, in particular platelet activating factor (PAF), generating significant amounts of Lyso-PAF which in turn, via a remodelling pathway, can generate arachidonic acid (AA) from alkyl-acyl-glycerophosphorylcholine. AA is a precursor for prostaglandin synthesis, which regulates adipogenesis through the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor subfamily. AA may also modulate skeletal muscle growth. We investigated the association of the PLA2G7 A379V variant with changes in body composition in a longitudinal study of 123 male Caucasian army recruits over 10 weeks of intensive physical training. There was no effect of genotype on baseline measures. However, after exercise training, homozygosity for the 379V allele was associated with a decrease in percentage adipose tissue mass (−3.61 ± 1.14%), compared to AV (−1.67 ± 0.38%) and AA (−1.09 ± 0.24%) genotypes (p = 0.01), and a significant mean increase (3.51 ± 1.17%) in percentage lean mass, compared to AV (1.64 ± 0.38%) and AA (1.10 ± 0.24%) recruits (p = 0.02). The association of this genotype with changes in body composition after training suggests a novel role for Lp-PLA2.