Living to 100 : Major-gene mutants to long life

There is a clear link between the living to 100 and the legacy of a hyperactive version of an enzyme that prevents cell aging, say, a researcher.

Scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the United States says Centennial Ashkenazi Jews have this mutated gene.

They found that 86 very old people and their children had higher telomerase, which protects the DNA.

They say it might be possible to stimulate drugs that produce the enzyme.


It can be a disadvantage in terms of strengthening the process of DNA repair in cells, there are more opportunities to divide the opportunities to develop and harmful mutations increase cancer.

Professor Tim Spector of King's College
Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, say the teams have studied Ashkenazi Jewish community, since they are closely linked, it is easier to control the disease causing genetic differences are identified.

They took blood samples of 86 very old, but generally healthy people with an average age of 97 175, and their descendants, and 93 others who were the offspring of parents who had lived a normal life, and could therefore lead to a control group, with which the results can be compared.

The role of telomeres

Telomeres are relatively short DNA fragments, the specialists sit at the ends of chromosomes.

They were compared with the plastic tips at the ends of laces, the laces to keep the decay.

Each time a cell divides, its telomeres get shorter and the cell is more likely to die.

The importance of telomeres was recognized last month when three scientists 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for determining the structure of telomeres and discover how to protect chromosomes from degrading.

Telomerase can repair telomeres, prevent reduced.

"A strong hereditary component '

The team noted by Einstein, that the centenarians and their offspring had higher telomerase and telomeres significantly longer than men, regardless of the control group and that the train was very heritable.

Scientists had already shown that people spared in Ashkenazi families with exceptional longevity of age-related diseases generally remained high, such as heart disease and diabetes.

The centenarians in this study had a lower average body mass index than controls and higher levels of good cholesterol (HDL).

Yousin Suh, associate professor of medicine and genetics at Einstein and lead author of the article, said: "Our results suggest that length of telomeres and telomerase variants of genes that help people live a very long time to combine, perhaps by making them from the diseases of old age.

"We are now trying to the mechanism by which these genetic variants of telomerase maintain telomere length in centenarians understand.

"It may be possible, medications that telomerase our centenarians were blessed develop imitate."

"Disadvantage"

Done, Professor Tim Spector of King's College London, who has research on telomeres and aging, said it was an interesting finding, but it can not affect other populations, and research is needed.

He said: "There can be a disadvantage in terms of strengthening the process of DNA repair in cells, there are more opportunities that can divide the opportunities of development and harmful mutations increase cancer.

"Most scientists agree that there is evidence that people with longer telomeres less age-related diseases and this study suggests that one reason why they could live longer."