Amino acids and risk of colon adenocarcinoma: a Mendelian randomization study

BMC Cancer

Research

Qingjun Wang¹  Yuanyuan Wang¹  Zhihan Jia²  Zhitu Zhu³ 

[1] Cancer Clinical Research Ward, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, 121000, Jinzhou, China;Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, 121000, Jinzhou, China;Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Oncology Metabonomics, Institute of Clinical Bioinformatics, Cancer Center of Jinzhou Medical University, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, 121000, Jinzhou, China;

关键词: Alanine;    Colon adenocarcinoma;    Protective factors;    Prognosis;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12885-023-11514-w

 received in 2023-07-19, accepted in 2023-10-11,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe existence of amino acid metabolic reprogramming in tumor cells is well established. However, the potential correlation between blood amino acids and the risk of colon adenocarcinoma remains largely unexplored.MethodsWe utilized Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to examine the association between 20 amino acids in the blood and the risk of colon adenocarcinoma. Additionally, reverse MR analysis was employed to identify the presence of reverse causality. A two-step MR analysis was conducted to ascertain the potential mediating effect. Lastly, the alanine detection data from colon adenocarcinoma patients in our hospital were utilized to investigate the differences in alanine levels among healthy individuals and patients with colon cancer, as well as among patients with different stages and locations of colon cancer. Furthermore, a Kaplan–Meier curve was employed to examine the correlation between alanine and overall survival, followed by the implementation of COX univariate analysis.ResultsThe results of our study indicate that there is an inverse correlation between alanine and the risk of colon adenocarcinoma. Additionally, we found no significant evidence to support a causal relationship between colon adenocarcinoma and alanine. Furthermore, our analysis revealed that alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and blood glucose do not act as mediators in this causal pathway. Moreover, individuals diagnosed with colon adenocarcinoma exhibited a significant decrease in alanine levels, particularly in cases of stage IV colon adenocarcinoma with distant metastasis. Additionally, elevated alanine levels were associated with improved overall survival rates among colon adenocarcinoma patients.ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate that alanine exhibits protective characteristics against the onset of colon adenocarcinoma and may play a role in promoting a more favorable disease prognosis. Consequently, dietary interventions aimed at increasing alanine intake may serve as a potential strategy for the prevention and treatment of colon adenocarcinoma.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

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