Poster Theater Flash Session
Aging and Chronic Disease
Nutrition Translation
Nutrient-Gene Interactions
Carotenoids and Retinoids (CARIG)
Xueyan Fu, PhD
JM-USDA HNRCA at Tufts University
Will Patterson, MS
JM-USDA HNRCA at Tufts University
Gregory Dolnikowski, PhD
JM-USDA HNRCA at Tufts University
Bess Dawson-Hughes, MD
JM-USDA HNRCA at Tufts University
Martha Morris, ScD
Professor and Director
Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, Rush University
Thomas Holland, MD
Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, Rush University
Sarah Booth, PhD
JM-USDA HNRCA at Tufts University
Objectives : Very little is known about the forms of vitamin D and vitamin K in the human brain. The objective of this study is to evaluate concentrations of vitamin D and vitamin K forms in human brain and their correlations across four human brain regions.
Methods : Vitamin D [D3, 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D] and vitamin K [phylloquinone and menaquinone-4 (MK4)] concentrations were measured by LC/MS/MS and HPLC, respectively, in four brain regions from post-mortem samples obtained from participants in the Rush Memory and Aging Project (n=130, mean age 82 yrs, 81% female). The brain regions analyzed were the mid-frontal cortex (MF) and mid-temporal cortex (MT) [two regions important for memory in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)], the cerebellum (CR, a region not affected by AD), and the anterior watershed white matter (AWS, a region associated with vascular disease). The correlations among the vitamin forms across brain regions were calculated using Spearman rank order correlation coefficients. Significance was set at p< 0.001.
Results : The average concentrations of vitamin D3, 25(OH)D and MK4 were 604 pg/g, 535 pg/g, and 3.4 pmol/g, respectively. 25(OH)D and MK4 were detected in > 95% of the brain samples. Nearly 92% of 1,25(OH)2D and 80% of phylloquinone samples had concentrations below the limit of assay detection (LOD) 1,25(OH)2D=20 ng/g, phylloquinone=0.1 pmol/g). Vitamin D3 and 25(OH)D concentrations were positively correlated across all four regions (all Spearman r ≥0.78, p< 0.0001). The 1,25(OH)2D was significantly correlated between the MF and CR regions only (Spearman r=0.30, p< 0.001, all other p≥0.002). MK4 and PK were positively correlated across the four regions studied (MK4 all Spearman r ≥0.78, phylloquinone r≥0.49, all p< 0.001).
Conclusions : To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first evaluation of the concentrations of vitamin D and vitamin K forms in multiple regions of the human brain. Overall, the vitamin D and vitamin K forms were each positively correlated across the four brain regions studied. Future studies are needed to clarify the roles of these nutrients in AD and dementia.
Funding Sources : National Institute of Aging