Genetics of exceptional longevity: possible role of GM allotypes

Calogero Caruso,Annibale A Puca,Janardan P Pandey

doi:10.1186/s12979-018-0133-8

Abstract

Genetics of exceptional longevity: possible role of GM allotypes

Highlights

Many variables contribute to the way we age and the consequent possible achievement of extreme ages
Among the criteria that vary among the studies, it is important to mention the ages of Long-living individual (LLI) and the young controls and gender distribution, parameters that could influence associations of genetic variants that intervene at extreme ages and with a gender effect [9]
This is the case for the study presented by Puca et al, [10] which analysed the role of genetic markers of γ chains (GM allotypes), i.e. the hereditary antigenic determinants expressed on immunoglobulin G polypeptide chains, in the attainment of longevity

Summary

Background

Many variables contribute to the way we age and the consequent possible achievement of extreme ages. The possibility to inherit longevity increases with age: for long living individuals (LLIs), which are people that belong to the top 5th percentile of life-spans (i.e. 95 years in males and 98 years in female), it reaches up to 33% for women and 48% for men [1,2,3] (https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/STATS/, under “life table”). Genetics of exceptional longevity has been developed with different approaches depending on the available technologies and on the costs for a single analysis. Among the criteria that vary among the studies, it is important to mention the ages of LLIs and the young controls and gender distribution, parameters that could influence associations of genetic variants that intervene at extreme ages and with a gender effect [9]. The LLIs are healthy individuals that are not hospitalized and are recruited by home visiting, making it difficult to reach large numbers [4]

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion