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Levels of Trimethylamine Metabolites and Their Associations with Dietary Intakes and Cardiometabolic Biomarkers: the TMAO Pooling Project

Principal Investigator
Name
Danxia Yu
Degrees
Ph.D.
Institution
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Position Title
Assistant Professor
Email
About this CDAS Project
Study
PLCO (Learn more about this study)
Project ID
PLCO-414
Initial CDAS Request Approval
Nov 2, 2018
Title
Levels of Trimethylamine Metabolites and Their Associations with Dietary Intakes and Cardiometabolic Biomarkers: the TMAO Pooling Project
Summary
There is a growing appreciation that diet-gut microbiota interactions play an important role in human cardiovascular health. Recent studies have discovered a diet-derived, gut microbiota-dependent metabolite, trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), which may promote the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). So far, only a few small studies among general populations have investigated this novel TMAO-CVD pathway. Limited evidence suggests that TMAO production and metabolism is influenced by both dietary and non-dietary factors and that the diet-TMAO association may vary across populations due to significant variations in TMAO food sources (e.g., meat vs. fish vs. plant foods). Large-scale, collaborative epidemiologic studies that include ethnically and regionally diverse populations and incorporate comprehensive data on diet, TMAO metabolites, and CVD biomarkers will provide critical insights into this meta-organismal pathway and may pave the way for developing new strategies for CVD prevention and treatment based on diet-gut microbiota interactions. We propose to conduct a consortium-based, secondary data analysis, the TMAO Pooling Project, based on the Consortium of Metabolomics Studies (COMETS).
Aims

• To examine levels of TMAO metabolites across populations and their associations with age, sex, race/ethnicity, obesity, lifestyle factors (e.g., smoking), and metabolic diseases (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia).
• To evaluate associations of TMAO metabolites with dietary intakes, including red meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fish, shellfish, legumes, nuts, vegetables, fruits, macronutrients, and fiber.
• To evaluate associations of TMAO metabolites with CVD biomarkers, including blood lipids, glucose, insulin, blood pressure, and inflammatory and renal function markers.

Collaborators

Steven C. Moore, PhD, MPH, National Cancer Institute;
Xiao-Ou Shu, MD, PhD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center;
Hui Cai, MD, PhD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center;
Thomas J. Wang, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center;
Loren P. Lipworth, ScD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center;
David M. Herrington, MD, MHS, Wake Forest School of Medicine;
Heather A. Eliassen, ScD, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health;
Katie A. Meyer, ScD, University of North Carolina;
Nicholette D. Allred, PhD, Wake Forest School of Medicine;
Marinella Temprosa, PhD, George Washington University;
Demetrius Albanes, MD, National Cancer Institute;
Cristina Menni, PhD, King's College London;
Ioanna Tzoulaki, PhD, Imperial College London;
Gard Frodahl Tveitevåg Svingen, MD, PhD, Haukeland University Hospital;
Huilian Zhu, MD, PhD, Sun Yat-sen University;
Sei Harada, MD, PhD, Keio University;