EXTREME LONGEVITY, NO GENES SIGNIFICANTLY LINKED
Using fewer than
twenty genomes, researchers were unable to find rare protein-altering variants
significantly associated with extreme longevity, according to a study published
November 12, 2014 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Hinco Gierman from Stanford
University and colleagues
Supercentenarians are
the world's oldest people, living beyond 110 years of age. Seventy-four are
alive worldwide, with twenty-two living in the United States. The authors of
this study performed whole-genome sequencing on 17 supercentenarians to explore
the genetic basis underlying extreme human longevity.
From this small sample
size, the researchers were unable to find rare protein-altering variants
significantly associated with extreme longevity compared to control genomes.
However, they did find that one supercentenarian carries a variant associated
with a heart condition, which had little or no effect on his/her health, as
this person lived over 110 years.
The authors added that
it is recommended by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics to
report the results to this individual as an incidental finding. Although the
authors didn't find significant association with extreme longevity, the authors
have publicly published the genomes, making them available as a resource for
future studies on the genetic basis of extreme longevity.
This work was supported
by the Ellison Medical Foundation/American Federation for Aging Research
Fellowship, Stanford Dean's Fellowship, The Paul Glenn Foundation Biology of
Aging Seed Grant, National Institute of General Medical Sciences Center for
Systems Biology (P50 GM076547) and the University of Luxembourg - Institute for
Systems Biology Program. The funders had no role in study design, data
collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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