Sixteen "longevity genes"
16 genetic markers of longevity have been found
Julia Bondar, "Mednovosti"
The answer to how long each of us will live is partially encoded in our genome. Researchers have identified 16 genetic markers associated with a decrease in life expectancy, including 14 new to science. This is the largest set of life expectancy markers that have been discovered to date.
About 10 percent of the population has some configurations of these markers, which shorten the life span compared to the average population. A study conducted by scientists from the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics), Lausanne University Hospital (Lausanne University Hospital) and the University of Lausanne (University of Lausanne), presents a powerful computational framework for identifying the genetics of our time of death and, ultimately, any disease. The study is published in Nature Communications.
Why do some of us live longer than others? The environment we live in, including our socioeconomic status or the food we eat, plays a big role, but 20 to 30 percent of the variation in human life comes down to our genome. Thus, changes in certain places in our DNA sequence, such as single-nucleotide polynucleotides (SNPs), may be the keys to our longevity.
"So far, the most comprehensive studies have found only two variants in the genome that are responsible for longevity," notes Professor Zoltan Kutalik, head of the group at SIB and associate professor at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine.
In a new study, a team of scientists led by Kutalik used an innovative computational approach to analyze a data set of 116,279 people and probe 2.3 million human snips (SNPs).
An unprecedented number of SNPs related to life expectancy (16) were discovered, including 14 completely new to science. "In our approach, we prioritize DNA changes that are known to be associated with age–related diseases in order to scan the genome more efficiently," says Kutalik. "This is the largest set of lifecycle-related snips that have ever been discovered."
It turned out that every tenth person carries some combination of these markers, which shorten his life by more than a year compared to the average population. In addition, a person who inherits a version of shortening the lifespan of one of these markers may die seven months earlier.
This approach also allowed researchers to investigate how DNA changes affect life expectancy in general. According to the authors, most of the detected snips affect the progression and course of several diseases at once, as well as the level of certain risk factors, such as, for example, smoking and predisposition to the development of schizophrenia. Low gene expression in the vicinity of RBM6, SULT1A1 and CHRNA5 snips, on the contrary, increased life expectancy (carriers of such genetic features lived from 85 to 100 years).
Thus, these three genes can act as biomarkers of longevity, that is, life expectancy of at least 85-100 years.
This is a study that is part of the AgingX project supported by SystemsX.ch (Swiss Initiative in Systems Biology), brings us closer to understanding the mechanisms of human aging and longevity. It also offers an innovative computational framework for improving the effectiveness of research on genetically determined diseases more generally. Thus, this model may have promising applications in the field of personalized medicine.
Earlier, scientists have repeatedly stated that they have uncovered the secret of the "longevity gene". So, back in 2007, American scientists announced that they had discovered a gene responsible for increasing life expectancy with a strict restriction of calorie intake.
In two studies conducted in 2008 by German and French in 2008 and 2009, scientists discovered the FOXO3A gene in a group of centenarians, which the researchers called the "longevity gene".
In 2009, geneticists from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York discovered a stable and, as it turned out, quite logical connection between the structure of the ends of chromosomes – telomeres and life up to a hundred years.
In 2012, scientists from Boston University, working under the guidance of Professors Paola Sebastiani and Thomas Perls, published a study that unequivocally proved the predominant influence of genes on life expectancy. However, Paola Sebastiani's sensational article was withdrawn after numerous critical comments from her fellow geneticists. Complaints were made about the methodology used to analyze the genome of centenarians and people from control groups, whose flaws could affect the results. And although we are not talking about a complete revision of views, the flawlessness of the published research is questioned.
However, in 2014, a study that included 17 of the longest-lived people on the planet aged 110 to 116 years, did not confirm any of their previous "discoveries" in which special combinations of genes were found in people with outstanding life expectancy. None of the 17 participants in the study had any previously discovered combination of "longevity genes". None of them were distinguished by their commitment to a healthy lifestyle or to a healthy diet. On the contrary, about half of the subjects were smokers, and one of the centenarians was found to have a gene variation associated with an increased tendency to heart rhythm disturbances (however, the mutation did not manifest itself in life). At the same time, many of them remained physically and cognitively active in old age: for example, one of them remained a practicing doctor until the age of 103, and the other drove a car until the age of 107.
Initially, scientists assumed that people living more than 110 years old may have rare mutations, but the results did not reveal any genetic differences from the genome of other people.
Unfortunately, the genetics of longevity is still a science without reliable evidence. However, attempts to explain life expectancy with the help of genes are being made by scientists from different countries with enviable constancy. Probably, sooner or later one of these attempts will succeed and the mystery of the "longevity gene" will still be revealed.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru 25.08.2017