Carotenoids in Health as Studied by Omics-Related Endpoints

Abstract

Carotenoids have been associated with risk reduction for several chronic diseases, including the association of their dietary intake/circulating levels with reduced incidence of obesity, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer, and even lower total mortality. In addition to some carotenoids constituting vitamin A precursors, they are implicated in potential antioxidant effects and pathways related to inflammation and oxidative stress, including transcription factors such as nuclear factor κB and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2. Carotenoids and metabolites may also interact with nuclear receptors, mainly retinoic acid receptor/retinoid X receptor and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, which play a role in the immune system and cellular differentiation. Therefore, a large number of downstream targets are likely influenced by carotenoids, including but not limited to genes and proteins implicated in oxidative stress and inflammation, antioxidation, and cellular differentiation processes. Furthermore, recent studies also propose an association between carotenoid intake and gut microbiota. While all these endpoints could be individually assessed, a more complete/integrative way to determine a multitude of health-related aspects of carotenoids includes (multi)omics-related techniques, especially transcriptomics, proteomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics, as well as metagenomics, measured in a variety of biospecimens including plasma, urine, stool, white blood cells, or other tissue cellular extracts. In this review, we highlight the use of omics technologies to assess health-related effects of carotenoids in mammalian organisms and models.

Keywords: LC-MS-MS; body tissues; cellular compartments; exposome; health; inflammation; lutein; lycopene; metabolites; oxidative stress; transcription factors; β-carotene.

Figure 1

Overview of metabolically measurable endpoints that could be plausibly related to carotenoids – from influences on gene transcription to downstream proteins and metabolites to further potential biological targets. BCL, B cell lymphoma; BCO, β-carotene oxygenase; CAT, catalase; CXCL, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand; GPX, glutathione peroxidase; GST, glutathione-S-transferase; ICAM, intracellular adhesion molecule; IL, interleukin; MDA, malondialdehyde; NQO, NADPH quinone oxidoreductase; MCP, monocyte chemoattractant protein; MRP2, multiple drug resistance protein 2; RNS, reactive nitrogen species; ROS, reactive oxygen species; SOD, superoxide dismutase; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor alpha; VCAM, vascular cell adhesion molecule.

Figure 2

Number of publications listed in PubMed with keywords regarding carotenoids and various omics techniques.

Figure 3

Overview of current -omic technologies, most of which have been used for carotenoids and human health endpoints. Images depict common instrumentation utilized for techniques within their respective categories. Created with BioRender.com 2D-DIGE, 2-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis; GC, gas chromatography; ICAT, isotope-coded affinity tag; iTRAQ, isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation; LC, liquid chromatography; MS, mass spectrometry; NMR, nuclear magnetic resonance; Q-TOF, quadrupole-time of flight; TMT, tandem mass tag.