Analysis of growth hormone receptor polymorphism in Japanese semisuper centenarians

Abstract

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated a significant association between mutations in genes involved in the GHR/IGF1 signaling pathway and extension of the lifespan of model organisms. Exon 3 insertion or deletion is one common polymorphism in the growth hormone receptor (GHR) of humans. The exon 3 deletion allele is reported to have stronger signaling in the GH/GHR pathway, which may correlate to short lifespan. Methods: We investigated the common polymorphic variation in 119 Japanese semisuper centenarians (SSC; older than 105) compared with 104 healthy younger controls via the polymorphism-based polymerase chain reaction method. Results: The frequency of exon 3 deletion variation of GHR in SSC was found to be higher than controls, although this was not significant statistically. Also, the single nucleotide polymorphism genotype frequency and allele frequency exhibited no differences between SSC and controls. Conclusions: These results show that SSC in Japan do not tend to have the allele of GHR, which has a lower signaling capacity.