Mild depletion of dietary folate combined with other B vitamins alters multiple components of the Wnt pathway in mouse colon.

Preclinical and clinical studies suggest that diminished folate status increases the risk of colorectal carcinogenesis. However, many biochemical functions of folate are dependent on the adequate availability of other 1-carbon nutrients, including riboflavin, vitamin B-6, and vitamin B-12. Aberrations in the Wnt pathway are thought to play an important role in human colorectal cancers. This study therefore investigated if mild depletion of folate combined with depletion of riboflavin, vitamin B-6, and vitamin B-12 could induce alterations in the Wnt pathway in the colonic mucosa. Ninety-six mice were pair-fed diets with different combinations of B vitamin depletion for 10 wk. Genomic DNA methylation and uracil misincorporation were measured by LC/MS and GC/MS. Gene-specific methylation, strand breaks, and expressions were measured by real-time PCR and immunoblotting. Proliferation and apoptosis were determined by immunohistochemistry. DNA strand breaks within the Apc mutation cluster region were induced by folate depletion combined with inadequacies of riboflavin, vitamin B-6, and vitamin B-12 (P < 0.05), but such effects were not induced by folate depletion alone. Similarly, minor changes in the expression of Apc, beta-catenin, and cyclin D1 produced by mild folate depletion were significantly magnified by multiple vitamin depletion. Apoptosis, which can be suppressed by increased Wnt-signaling, was attenuated by the combined deficiency state (P < 0.05) but not by singlet or doublet deficiencies. These findings indicate that a mild depletion of folate that is of insufficient magnitude by itself to induce alterations in components of the Wnt pathway may produce such effects when present in conjunction with mild inadequacies of other 1-carbon nutrients.