Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42875425›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Aberrant one-carbon metabolism and ancestral genetics underlie edematous severe acute malnutrition.

Natasha C Lie, Yixing Han, Qing Li, Aarti Jajoo, Jared Redmond, Aparna Haldipur, Solome Zewdu, Emilyn Banfield, Shanker Swaminathan, Sharon Howell and 17 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

27 authors.

Natasha C LieGraduate Program in Integrative Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6207-8140
Yixing HanChildhood Complex Disease Genomics Section, Center for Precision Health Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9424-6244
Qing LiChildhood Complex Disease Genomics Section, Center for Precision Health Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Aarti JajooChildhood Complex Disease Genomics Section, Center for Precision Health Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0089-1697
Jared RedmondChildhood Complex Disease Genomics Section, Center for Precision Health Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Aparna HaldipurChildhood Complex Disease Genomics Section, Center for Precision Health Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Solome ZewduChildhood Complex Disease Genomics Section, Center for Precision Health Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Emilyn BanfieldChildhood Complex Disease Genomics Section, Center for Precision Health Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Shanker SwaminathanDepartment of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Sharon HowellTropical Metabolism Research Unit, Caribbean Institute for Health Research, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
Orgen BrownTropical Metabolism Research Unit, Caribbean Institute for Health Research, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
Roa SadatDepartment of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Nancy J HallDepartment of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Kwesi MarshallTropical Metabolism Research Unit, Caribbean Institute for Health Research, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
Katharina V SchulzeDepartment of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Thaddaeus MayInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Marvin E ReidTropical Metabolism Research Unit, Caribbean Institute for Health Research, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
Carolyn Taylor-BryanTropical Metabolism Research Unit, Caribbean Institute for Health Research, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
Mark J ManaryUSDA/ARS/Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Indi TrehanDepartment of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3364-6858
Mamana MbiyavangaComputational Biology Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.
Wisdom A AkuruguComputational Biology Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.
Colin A McKenzieTropical Metabolism Research Unit, Caribbean Institute for Health Research, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
Dhriti SenguptaSydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience (SBIMB), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6315-7804
Elizabeth G AtkinsonDepartment of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6308-776X
Ananyo ChoudhurySydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience (SBIMB), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8225-9531
Neil A HanchardGraduate Program in Integrative Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. neil.hanchard@nih.gov.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1925-2665

Funding

PROGRAM IN HUMAN MOLECULAR GENETICST32GM008307 · NIGMS · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · PI SHAULSKY, GAD · 1990 to 2020
$6.6M
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) 2013096United States Department of Agriculture | Agricultural Research Service (USDA Agricultural Research Service) 58-3092-5-001U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) HG-200412U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) 5 T32GM008231U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) T32GM008307
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Edematous severe childhood malnutrition is distinct from the non-edematous form of malnutrition and remains a major cause of under-five mortality. Its etiology remains unclear, although aberrant one-carbon metabolism has emerged as a potential contributor. Here, we assess genetic variants at loci known to influence one-carbon metabolism, and determine their association with edematous malnutrition in Jamaica and Malawi. Six loci show evidence of association, including four related to homocysteine and folate metabolism - AHCYL1, PRICKLE2, GABBR2, and PLD2, with SNPs at the latter three also having direct effects on homocysteine-related metabolites in Mendelian Randomization. Collectively, one-carbon metabolism-related variants were significantly associated with edematous malnutrition (z = 3.2), with population differences linked to a shared East African genetic ancestry and distinct signatures of selection. These findings strengthen evidence implicating aberrant one-carbon metabolism in edematous malnutrition and highlight the utility of cell-free DNA, intra-continental admixture, and population genetics for mapping disease risk.

Indexed as

CarbonSevere Acute MalnutritionChild, PreschoolFolic AcidGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseHomocysteineHumansMalawiMaleMendelian Randomization AnalysisPolymorphism, Single NucleotideCarbonFolic AcidHomocysteine

Identifiers

PMID42875425
PMCPMC13669358

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