Vitamin D Genes varied seasonally with European but not Asian ancestors – VDBP June 2011

Association of vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) polymorphisms and serum 25(OH)D concentrations in a sample of young Canadian adults of different ancestry

Agnes Gozdzika, agnes.gozdzik@utoronto.ca , Justin Zhub, Betty Y.-L. Wongb, Lei Fub, David E.C. Coleb, and Esteban J. Parraa,
a Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road North, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada
b Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Banting Institute, 100 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1L5, Canada
The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, doi:10.1016/j.jsbmb.2011.05.009
Received 19 February 2011; revised 14 April 2011; accepted 17 May 2011. online 12 June 2011.

Variants of the vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) gene appear to be associated with levels of the main circulating vitamin D metabolite, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D. We examined the associations between the common variants of the VDBP (GC) gene and concentrations of 25(OH)D in a sample of young Canadian adults of East Asian, European and South Asian ancestry, taking into account the effect of vitamin D intake, skin pigmentation, sex, BMI, sun exposure and season.

Three hundred and fifty-one (351) healthy young adults were genotyped for two non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), T436K (rs4588) and D432E (rs7041), using a method that ascertains the GC diplotypes of each individual.

After controlling for relevant predictor variables in multiple regression models, the number of GC-2 (436 K) alleles was found to be associated with lower 25(OH)D concentrations in the East Asian sample at fall and winter visits.

  • The number of GC-2 alleles also showed a significant negative association with fall 25(OH)D concentration in the European sample.
  • No associations were noted between the number of GC-2 alleles and 25(OH)D in the South Asian sample at either season.


Vitamin D intake was also significantly predictive of serum 25(OHD) concentrations, and similarly to what was observed for the GC polymorphisms, the relative strength of the association was influenced by ancestry and season.


It appears that only when their ancestors came from a region that had UV varying with season did a person's genes vary with season in Canada

See also VitaminDWiki

see the wiki for review and link to the PDF: http://www.vitamindwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page_id=794

in wikipage: http://www.vitamindwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page_id=1660

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