Association of Plasma Vitamins and Carotenoids, DNA Methylation of LCAT, and Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Dysregulation of lipid metabolism has been implicated in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness among the elderly. Lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) is an important enzyme responsible for lipid metabolism, which could be regulated by DNA methylation during the development of various age-related diseases. This study aimed to assess the association between LCAT DNA methylation and the risk of AMD, and to examine whether plasma vitamin and carotenoid concentrations modified this association. A total of 126 cases of AMD and 174 controls were included in the present analysis. LCAT DNA methylation was detected by quantitative real-time methylation-1specific PCR (qMSP). Circulating vitamins and carotenoids were measured using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). DNA methylation of LCAT was significantly higher in patients with AMD than those in the control subjects. After multivariable adjustment, participants in the highest tertile of LCAT DNA methylation had a 5.37-fold higher risk (95% CI: 2.56, 11.28) of AMD compared with those in the lowest tertile. Each standard deviation (SD) increment of LCAT DNA methylation was associated with a 2.23-fold (95% CI: 1.58, 3.13) increased risk of AMD. There was a J-shaped association between LCAT DNA methylation and AMD risk (P_{non-linearity} = 0.03). Higher concentrations of plasma retinol and β-cryptoxanthin were significantly associated with decreased levels of LCAT DNA methylation, with the multivariate-adjusted β coefficient being −0.05 (95% CI: −0.08, −0.01) and −0.25 (95% CI: −0.42, −0.08), respectively. In joint analyses of LCAT DNA methylation and plasma vitamin and carotenoid concentrations, the inverse association between increased LCAT DNA methylation and AMD risk was more pronounced among participants who had a lower concentration of plasma retinol and β-cryptoxanthin. These findings highlight the importance of comprehensively assessing LCAT DNA methylation and increasing vitamin and carotenoid status for the prevention of AMD.