ArticleBMC physiology2010
Identification of differences in human and great ape phytanic acid metabolism that could influence gene expression profiles and physiological functions.
Article in BMC physiology, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- In vivo base editing rescues liver pathophysiology and peroxisome dysfunction in a mouse model of Zellweger spectrum disorder.Nature biomedical engineering · 2026Article
- Comprehensive 16s rRNA sequencing and metabolomics to investigate the effect of anticancer bioactive peptides combined with oxaliplatin on gastric cancer.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Comparative physiological anthropogeny: exploring molecular underpinnings of distinctly human phenotypes.Physiological reviews · 2023Review
- Phytanic acid, an inconclusive phytol metabolite: A review.Current research in toxicology · 2023Article
- Article
- Maternal malnutrition and anaemia in India: dysregulations leading to the 'thin-fat' phenotype in newborns.Journal of nutritional science · 2021Review
- A Generic Multivariate Framework for the Integration of Microbiome Longitudinal Studies With Other Data Types.Frontiers in genetics · 2019Article
- Peroxisome biogenesis disorders in the Zellweger spectrum: An overview of current diagnosis, clinical manifestations, and treatment guidelines.Molecular genetics and metabolism · 2016Review
- Derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells from orangutan skin fibroblasts.BMC research notes · 2015Article
- Induced pluripotent stem cell models of Zellweger spectrum disorder show impaired peroxisome assembly and cell type-specific lipid abnormalities.Stem cell research & therapy · 2015Article
- The role of DNA insertions in phenotypic differentiation between humans and other primates.Genome biology and evolution · 2015Article
- Thyroid autoantibodies are rare in nonhuman great apes and hypothyroidism cannot be attributed to thyroid autoimmunity.Endocrinology · 2013Article
- Diverse captive non-human primates with phytanic acid-deficient diets rich in plant products have substantial phytanic acid levels in their red blood cells.Lipids in health and disease · 2013Article
- Phytanic acid and the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.Carcinogenesis · 2013Article
- Comparative RNA sequencing reveals substantial genetic variation in endangered primates.Genome research · 2012Article
- Human and great ape red blood cells differ in plasmalogen levels and composition.Lipids in health and disease · 2011Article
- Nonsense suppressor therapies rescue peroxisome lipid metabolism and assembly in cells from patients with specific PEX gene mutations.Journal of cellular biochemistry · 2011Article
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIt has been proposed that anatomical differences in human and great ape guts arose in response to species-specific diets and energy demands. To investigate functional genomic consequences of these differences, we compared their physiological levels of phytanic acid, a branched chain fatty acid that can be derived from the microbial degradation of chlorophyll in ruminant guts. Humans who accumulate large stores of phytanic acid commonly develop cerebellar ataxia, peripheral polyneuropathy, and retinitis pigmentosa in addition to other medical conditions. Furthermore, phytanic acid is an activator of the PPAR-alpha transcription factor that influences the expression of genes relevant to lipid metabolism.
resultsDespite their trace dietary phytanic acid intake, all great ape species had elevated red blood cell (RBC) phytanic acid levels relative to humans on diverse diets. Unlike humans, chimpanzees showed sexual dimorphism in RBC phytanic acid levels, which were higher in males relative to females. Cultured skin fibroblasts from all species had a robust capacity to degrade phytanic acid. We provide indirect evidence that great apes, in contrast to humans, derive significant amounts of phytanic acid from the hindgut fermentation of plant materials. This would represent a novel reduction of metabolic activity in humans relative to the great apes.
conclusionWe identified differences in the physiological levels of phytanic acid in humans and great apes and propose this is causally related to their gut anatomies and microbiomes. Phytanic acid levels could contribute to cross-species and sex-specific differences in human and great ape transcriptomes, especially those related to lipid metabolism. Based on the medical conditions caused by phytanic acid accumulation, we suggest that differences in phytanic acid metabolism could influence the functions of human and great ape nervous, cardiovascular, and skeletal systems.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.