23&me question

[Ashx79]

I just sent in my 23&me kit, and was wondering about the health report option. Are these health reports regarding carrier status separate from just getting my DNA gene information? Their site suggest seeing a genetic counselor to figure out if I should get these reports or not, but thats all optional right?

 

[BeADocToGoTo1]

All optional. There are some other sites (e.g. Promethease) where you can upload the raw 23andMe data to get more details.

 

[Ashx79]

ok great thank you

 

[Ashx79]

I got my results and ran it through knowyourgenetics and found out I have these issues to focus on.
COMT V158M +/+
COMT H62H +/+
VDR Taq TT +/+
SHMT C1420T +/-
I understand what COMT is and what it does, but I am a bit unclear about the VDR and SHMT. Mainly the VDR because I had a feeling I have been having issues regarding vitamin D. How does this +/+ in VDR Taq effect my comt issues? Is this like a vitamin D deficiency? Would getting more vitamin D help speed up my comt activity? Any insight greatly appreciated.

 

[BeADocToGoTo1]

I got my results and ran it through knowyourgenetics and found out I have these issues to focus on.
COMT V158M +/+
COMT H62H +/+
VDR Taq TT +/+
SHMT C1420T +/-
I understand what COMT is and what it does, but I am a bit unclear about the VDR and SHMT. Mainly the VDR because I had a feeling I have been having issues regarding vitamin D. How does this +/+ in VDR Taq effect my comt issues? Is this like a vitamin D deficiency? Would getting more vitamin D help speed up my comt activity? Any insight greatly appreciated.

One thing to keep in mind is that it shows possible mutations. But this does not mean that those are actually turned on. Epigenetics vs genetics. So take the results with some salt. Since it is such a small slice of info, often inaccurate and certainly incomplete, I would be careful making drastic decisions based on them.

Some notes I had on VDR, SHMT:

Serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT1) is important for linked reactions. The first is the conversion of tetrahydrofolate to 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate. The second is the conversion of L-serine to glycine. It also has a role in mediating the synthesis of dTMP and SAM. It preferentially selects for dTMP biosynthesis which is the precursor to the nucleic acid thiamine. Mutations in this enzyme may cause elevations in uracil which can build up when dTMP synthesis in impaired. Uracil is marker 40 in the OAT.

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a nuclear hormone receptor for vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 interacts with this receptor to influence multiple biological activities by regulating gene transcription. Vitamin D3 is associated with maintenance of calcium distribution. More recently, it has been implicated in inflammatory processes, vascular integrity, and collagen formation. Mutations in VDR have been linked to metabolic syndrome. Individuals with VDR mutations have greater propensity for insulin insensitivity, higher triglycerides, and lower HDL levels. Vitamin D receptor mutations can also lead to vitamin-D-dependent rickets type 2.

 

[BeADocToGoTo1]

One other side note. When you upload your data to a 3rd party, remove all your personal data first. Just fill in some bogus names in the file before uploading. 23andme and others sell your data on to big pharma, that was in the news, but the 3rd party companies have likely even less security around your data.

 

[Ashx79]

wow so since Ive downloaded everything from 23andme should I delete it on their site?

 

[Ashx79]

Their site does say
Third Party Sharing
We will not sell, lease or rent your individual-level information to any third party or to a third party for research purposes without your explicit consent.

 

[BeADocToGoTo1]

wow so since Ive downloaded everything from 23andme should I delete it on their site?

That will not remove it from their servers. You can go into privacy settings and say no to everything as it is often defaulted to yes. But that is more to make us feel better rather than real privacy, which does not exist in this day and age. I would not lose sleep over it though.

They periodically send out a new report based on your DNA, which is entertaining.

 

[Ashx79]

gotcha, thanks for the input about the other 2 genes. Will take it with a grain of salt. A third of the trait results on that test were actually very inaccurate.

 

[GreenMachineX]

One thing to keep in mind is that it shows possible mutations. But this does not mean that those are actually turned on. Epigenetics vs genetics. So take the results with some salt. Since it is such a small slice of info, often inaccurate and certainly incomplete, I would be careful making drastic decisions based on them.

Some notes I had on VDR, SHMT:

Serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT1) is important for linked reactions. The first is the conversion of tetrahydrofolate to 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate. The second is the conversion of L-serine to glycine. It also has a role in mediating the synthesis of dTMP and SAM. It preferentially selects for dTMP biosynthesis which is the precursor to the nucleic acid thiamine. Mutations in this enzyme may cause elevations in uracil which can build up when dTMP synthesis in impaired. Uracil is marker 40 in the OAT.

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a nuclear hormone receptor for vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 interacts with this receptor to influence multiple biological activities by regulating gene transcription. Vitamin D3 is associated with maintenance of calcium distribution. More recently, it has been implicated in inflammatory processes, vascular integrity, and collagen formation. Mutations in VDR have been linked to metabolic syndrome. Individuals with VDR mutations have greater propensity for insulin insensitivity, higher triglycerides, and lower HDL levels. Vitamin D receptor mutations can also lead to vitamin-D-dependent rickets type 2.

With the SHMT1 mutation, should one avoid folic acid and vegetable folate like one with MTHFR mutations does? It looks like it's the step just before MTHFR. And should one supplement glycine as well?