I am reviewing a company which claims to use genomic research to
identify the ways in which genes respond when exposed to various
nutritional supplements.

"The UPI/Oasis alliance allows Oasis to be among the FIRST to bring
gene testing technology to the validation of dietary supplement
research. With this advanced technology, Unigen scientists can
determine the activity of various genes when exposed to different
stimuli such as single nutrients, nutrient blends, or plant extracts."

This sounds a bit far-fetched. How likely is it that specific
nutrients or plant extracts would have any measurable effect on ANY
specific gene or DNA chain? Here's more of what they claim:

"A gene that is working properly gives the right instruction and
basically creates the same protein each time it is called upon. But,
as we age, our DNA may become damaged in subtle ways. Certain
"letters" of the DNA alphabet may get knocked out by free radicals,
toxins, or other substances. Once a letter or two gets knocked out of
your DNA, you no longer write the same "words" as before. In essence,
the chemical you now make is not the same chemical you made when you
were younger. Its like having the wrong blueprint for the construction
of a small building. After a while, this faulty DNA begins replicating
errors throughout your body. Over the course of time, these errors
show up as "aging" and can ultimately cause the significant health
challenges of later life."

http://www.oasisnetwork.com/_Products/genomicsD.asp

This theory sounds bogus. If DNA and genes could be affected or
altered this easily, I suspect we'd all be messed up in a variety of
ways. What I do know about genome research and DNA science is that
changing attributes or content is extremely difficult and
sophisticated science.

Any information in this regard would be appreciated.

Robert Burtis
info@thesurfboard.net

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Request for Question Clarification by librariankt-ga on 15 Jun 2004 21:21 PDT

Hi there -

I don't think they're claiming that the vitamins act on the DNA - they
seem to be claiming that certain supplements act to help the DNA
repair and expression proteins working properly - which means that
you're less likely to have mistakes propagated in important genes (DNA
errors can lead to a number of age-related diseases).  The idea that
certain substances (usually drugs, but in this case dietary
supplements) act differently depending on your genetics is the basis
of the study of pharmacogenomics - a recognized field in
pharmaceutical sciences.

For more info on pharmacogenomics:
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/medicine/pharma.shtml

Would information such as this website answer your question?  If you
can help me with your specific question I'll do my best to help.

Librariankt

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Clarification of Question by beachcomber25-ga on 16 Jun 2004 06:01 PDT

Thank you for some excellent background information. This is interesting stuff.

As I read their description of their company products, they correctly
describe ways in which DNA and genes may be damaged through a variety
of ways:

"But, as we age, our DNA may become damaged in subtle ways. Certain
"letters" of the DNA alphabet may get knocked out by free radicals,
toxins, or other substances."

The implication is then given that their product line contains
substances and nutrients that have been PROVEN - through their
company's research - to repair this damage somehow.

"The UPI/Oasis alliance allows Oasis to be among the FIRST to bring
gene testing technology to the validation of dietary supplement
research. With this advanced technology, Unigen scientists can
determine the activity of various genes when exposed to different
stimuli such as single nutrients, nutrient blends, or plant extracts."

They claim their supplements have been proven to be "GENO-ACTIVE",
although they never state specifically what it is that this means.

"The World's First Geno-Active Products!

Through the very expensive and advanced gene sequencing equipment,
Unigen Pharmaceuticals has been able to test four of Oasis' products
for "gene activity" as it relates to key anti-aging biomarkers.
Each product below has effectively PASSED this stringent guideline and
are currently the WORLD'S ONLY GENO-ACTIVE FORMULATIONS.

Products Registered as Geno-Active:
Product 	Company
1. MetaBerry  	Oasis Wellness Network
2. MetaGreens 	Oasis Wellness Network
3. Longevity Signal Formula (AM & PM) 	Oasis Wellness Network
4. Hilltop Gardens Aloe Gold 	Oasis Wellness Network
5. Ageless 	Oasis Wellness Network
6. RegeniCare 	Oasis Wellness Network
7. RegeniPet 	Oasis Wellness Network"

http://www.oasisnetwork.com/_Products/genomicsD.asp

I understand that chemicals, substances and the environment can DAMAGE DNA.

I find it harder to believe that a product called "MetaBerry" could
actually REPAIR that damage. Is there any scientific research that
supports the theory that nutritional supplements could directly and
specifically repair damaged DNA and genes AND would genomic science
have any use in validating these theories?

MetaBerry
Mind/Body & High Potency Antioxidant
Contains Blueberry, Cranberry, Grape and Cherry Concentrates,
Alpha-lipoic acid, Ginkgo Biloba (24:6),
Active AloeTM (200:1) and MaxCellTM "

Structure/Function Claim
Potent antioxidant and anti-catabolic aging defense.*

http://www.oasisnetwork.com/_Products/MetaBerryD.asp

Or is this company the only place in the world where this genomic
science is being applied in this way, as unlikely as it may seem?

If you have time to read through some of the informations I have
provided links for, it appears that they go to a lot of trouble to
imply that their products can REPAIR damaged DNA somehow, but when you
move to the products themselves, they only claim to act as PROTECTIVE
nutritionals, acting as anti-oxidants.

Thank you.

Robert Burtis
info@thesurfboard.net

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Request for Question Clarification by librariankt-ga on 16 Jun 2004 09:07 PDT

As I understand it, this is your main question:

"Is there any scientific research that
supports the theory that nutritional supplements could directly and
specifically repair damaged DNA and genes AND would genomic science
have any use in validating these theories?"

I would think the supplements themselves don't repair the DNA - they
help the proteins that have that function work better.  I don't have
time to research this in particular, though, so will leave it for
another researcher to work on.  Glad you found the pharmacogenomics
stuff interesting.

Librariankt

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 16 Jun 2004 09:29 PDT

beachcomber-ga,

I think your first instincts -- to be a bit wary of this operation --
is a good one.

I had a look at their website:

http://www.oasisnetwork.com/_Products/genomicsD.asp

and they can certainly talk the talk.  But the bottom line is they
claim to have identified a small number of products (sold,
coincidentally enough, by Oasis) that are "Geno-Active".

Howver, there is absolutely no information I could see that described
what "Geno-Active" is or means, or what sort of testing was done, or
what kind of results were obtained.

A legitimate operation, it seems to me, would have put their results
into the format of a traditional scientific paper, and submitted it to
review in a peer-reviewed journal.  Again, I see no indication that
they have done this.

Caveat emptor!

Take under consideration the two true statements:

1.) There are "hotspots" among genes that are sensitive to mutation.
2.) There are various chemical compounds(many which are components of
foods, supplments etc) that are known to damage DNA.

Thus, one can say what they say, without really "fabricating".

In sum and circumstance though, your suspicions are correct in that in
my humble opinion, such damaging substances are both ubiquitous, and
well guarded against by that which is the human makeup.  Such is the
market in which we live where people take buttloads of vitamins only
too see their hard earned money washed away in a bright yellow pool
each morning!

As I said before, nothing they have said is particularly outlandish. 
It's just enough truth to make it above board.

Depending on HOW they examine dna preservation, they could make such
idiotic claims.  Eg.  Commonly one measures singlet oxygen damage to
dna and such free radical traps would decrease such singlet oxygen
damage.  Usually this is done using some kind of sensitizer,
intercalator etc.  Now, whether or not this process can ever occur on
a grand scale in an organism eating very berry fruity happy fairy
pills is another matter entirely given the enormous amount of other
stuff happening in cells.  They would be much better served showing a
bunch of rats living a week or two longer

Bottom line is, any antioxidant will do what they say, just not in the
way they infer it.

Hi,

I have just had a quick perusal at this question and a few of the
answers, and I think what you are missing is that the 'activity' of a
gene generally refers to its expression, NOT mutations within the
gene.  Therefore, this company is probably simply measuring the effect
of certain nutritional supplements on an expression profile of genes
(i.e. a transcriptional microarray).  This is a very common technique,
and far from profound.  Whether it has any potential commercial value
is another question (probably NOT).  Sorry if someone has already
mentioned this, I'm just having a quick look at this question between
experiments.

Just FYI, I speak as someone with a PhD in biochemistry and several
years of experience in genomic research.  Most recently I have been
part of a group that has performed genomic profiling in yeast wrt G1
and cytoskeletal regulation -- we have several publications in
Science, Nature and Cell in this area.