Complete Genes May Pass from Food to Human Blood

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2013 Aug 13

PMID 23936105

Citations 25

Authors

Sandor Spisak

Norbert Solymosi

Peter Ittzes

Andras Bodor

Daniel Kondor

Gabor Vattay

Barbara K Bartak

Ferenc Sipos

Orsolya Galamb

Zsolt Tulassay

Zoltan Szallasi

Simon Rasmussen

Thomas Sicheritz-Ponten

Soren Brunak

Bela Molnar

Istvan Csabai

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Our bloodstream is considered to be an environment well separated from the outside world and the digestive tract. According to the standard paradigm large macromolecules consumed with food cannot pass directly to the circulatory system. During digestion proteins and DNA are thought to be degraded into small constituents, amino acids and nucleic acids, respectively, and then absorbed by a complex active process and distributed to various parts of the body through the circulation system. Here, based on the analysis of over 1000 human samples from four independent studies, we report evidence that meal-derived DNA fragments which are large enough to carry complete genes can avoid degradation and through an unknown mechanism enter the human circulation system. In one of the blood samples the relative concentration of plant DNA is higher than the human DNA. The plant DNA concentration shows a surprisingly precise log-normal distribution in the plasma samples while non-plasma (cord blood) control sample was found to be free of plant DNA.

Citing Articles

Non-human primates as indicators of Kinetoplastida diversity in an urban environment in Midwest Brazil.

Junior O, Jansen A, de Macedo G, Nantes W, Santos F, Sano N Front Parasitol. 2025; 4:1547701.

PMID: 40034868 PMC: 11873808. DOI: 10.3389/fpara.2025.1547701.

Leptomeningeal Metastases in Melanoma Patients: An Update on and Future Perspectives for Diagnosis and Treatment.

Steininger J, Gellrich F, Engellandt K, Meinhardt M, Westphal D, Beissert S Int J Mol Sci. 2023; 24(14).

PMID: 37511202 PMC: 10380419. DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411443.

Old Methods, New Insights: Reviewing Concepts on the Ecology of Trypanosomatids and sp. by Improving Conventional Diagnostic Tools.

Alves F, Lisboa C, Dario M, Novaes R, Tiepolo L, Moratelli R Pathogens. 2023; 12(1).

PMID: 36678419 PMC: 9864408. DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12010071.

The Role of Cell-Free DNA in Cancer Treatment Decision Making.

Telekes A, Horvath A Cancers (Basel). 2022; 14(24).

PMID: 36551600 PMC: 9776613. DOI: 10.3390/cancers14246115.

Cell-Free DNA in the Pathogenesis and Therapy of Non-Infectious Inflammations and Tumors.

Muzes G, Bohusne Barta B, Szabo O, Horgas V, Sipos F Biomedicines. 2022; 10(11).

PMID: 36359370 PMC: 9687442. DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10112853.

References

Jung K, Fleischhacker M, Rabien A . Cell-free DNA in the blood as a solid tumor biomarker--a critical appraisal of the literature. Clin Chim Acta. 2010; 411(21-22):1611-24. DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2010.07.032. View

Ziegler A, Zangemeister-Wittke U, Stahel R . Circulating DNA: a new diagnostic gold mine?. Cancer Treat Rev. 2002; 28(5):255-71. DOI: 10.1016/s0305-7372(02)00077-4. View

Sanderson I, He Y . Nucleotide uptake and metabolism by intestinal epithelial cells. J Nutr. 1994; 124(1 Suppl):131S-137S. DOI: 10.1093/jn/124.suppl_1.131S. View

Rogers J, Boldt D, Kornfeld S, Skinner A, Valeri C . Excretion of deoxyribonucleic acid by lymphocytes stimulated with phytohemagglutinin or antigen. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1972; 69(7):1685-9. PMC: 426778. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.69.7.1685. View

Lee T, Montalvo L, Chrebtow V, Busch M . Quantitation of genomic DNA in plasma and serum samples: higher concentrations of genomic DNA found in serum than in plasma. Transfusion. 2001; 41(2):276-82. DOI: 10.1046/j.1537-2995.2001.41020276.x. View

Lo Y, Rainer T, Chan L, Hjelm N, Cocks R . Plasma DNA as a prognostic marker in trauma patients. Clin Chem. 2000; 46(3):319-23. View

Mandel P, Metais P . Nuclear Acids In Human Blood Plasma. C R Seances Soc Biol Fil. 1948; 142(3-4):241-3. View

Stroun M, Anker P, Lyautey J, LEDERREY C, Maurice P . Isolation and characterization of DNA from the plasma of cancer patients. Eur J Cancer Clin Oncol. 1987; 23(6):707-12. DOI: 10.1016/0277-5379(87)90266-5. View

Lo Y, Corbetta N, Chamberlain P, Rai V, Sargent I, Redman C . Presence of fetal DNA in maternal plasma and serum. Lancet. 1997; 350(9076):485-7. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(97)02174-0. View

10.

Stroun M, Lyautey J, LEDERREY C, Mulcahy H, Anker P . Alu repeat sequences are present in increased proportions compared to a unique gene in plasma/serum DNA: evidence for a preferential release from viable cells?. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2001; 945:258-64. DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb03894.x. View

11.

Garcia-Olmo D, Dominguez C, Garcia-Arranz M, Anker P, Stroun M, Garcia-Verdugo J . Cell-free nucleic acids circulating in the plasma of colorectal cancer patients induce the oncogenic transformation of susceptible cultured cells. Cancer Res. 2010; 70(2):560-7. DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-09-3513. View

12.

Sharma R, Damgaard D, Alexander T, Dugan M, Aalhus J, Stanford K . Detection of transgenic and endogenous plant DNA in digesta and tissues of sheep and pigs fed Roundup Ready canola meal. J Agric Food Chem. 2006; 54(5):1699-709. DOI: 10.1021/jf052459o. View

13.

Van Buren C, Kulkarni A, Rudolph F . The role of nucleotides in adult nutrition. J Nutr. 1994; 124(1 Suppl):160S-164S. DOI: 10.1093/jn/124.suppl_1.160S. View

14.

Lo Y, Zhang J, Leung T, Lau T, Chang A, Hjelm N . Rapid clearance of fetal DNA from maternal plasma. Am J Hum Genet. 1999; 64(1):218-24. PMC: 1377720. DOI: 10.1086/302205. View

15.

Lui Y, Chik K, Chiu R, Ho C, Lam C, Lo Y . Predominant hematopoietic origin of cell-free DNA in plasma and serum after sex-mismatched bone marrow transplantation. Clin Chem. 2002; 48(3):421-7. View

16.

Chen S, Ge H, Wang X, Pan X, Yao X, Li X . Haplotype-assisted accurate non-invasive fetal whole genome recovery through maternal plasma sequencing. Genome Med. 2013; 5(2):18. PMC: 3706925. DOI: 10.1186/gm422. View

17.

Fan H, Blumenfeld Y, Chitkara U, Hudgins L, Quake S . Analysis of the size distributions of fetal and maternal cell-free DNA by paired-end sequencing. Clin Chem. 2010; 56(8):1279-86. DOI: 10.1373/clinchem.2010.144188. View

18.

Minchin R, Carpenter D, Orr R . Polyinosinic acid and polycationic liposomes attenuate the hepatic clearance of circulating plasmid DNA. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2001; 296(3):1006-12. View

19.

Langmead B, Trapnell C, Pop M, Salzberg S . Ultrafast and memory-efficient alignment of short DNA sequences to the human genome. Genome Biol. 2009; 10(3):R25. PMC: 2690996. DOI: 10.1186/gb-2009-10-3-r25. View

20.

Lo Y, Chan W, Ng E, Chan L, Lai P, Tam J . Circulating Epstein-Barr virus DNA in the serum of patients with gastric carcinoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2001; 7(7):1856-9. View