Genetic Variants in the ELOVL5 but not ELOVL2 Gene Associated with Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Han Chinese Breast Milk

The present study was designed to examine the contributions of the fatty acid elongase (ELOVL) gene polymorphisms to the levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in breast milk. Two hundred and nine healthy Han Chinese mothers were included in the study. Carriers of minor alleles of SNPs (rs2397142 and rs9357760) in ELOVL5 were associated with higher levels of linoleic acid (LA), dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA), arachidonic acid (AA), docosatetraenoic acid (DTA), docosahexenoic acid (DHA), while in rs209512 of ELOVL5 the carriers of minor alleles had lower levels of DTA compared to major homozygote alleles (P ranged from 0.004-0.046), and genetically explained variability ranged from 3.2% for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to 6.0% for LA. Our findings demonstrated that common variation in ELOVL5 gene encoding rate-limiting enzymes in the metabolism of PUFAs contribute to the PUFAs in breast milk.