How Important Are Genes to Achieve Longevity?

Calogero Caruso; Mattia Emanuela Ligotti; Giulia Accardi; Anna Aiello; Giovanni Duro; Damiano Galimberti; Giuseppina Candore

doi:10.3390/ijms23105635

How Important Are Genes to Achieve Longevity?

Int J Mol Sci. 2022 May 18;23(10):5635. doi: 10.3390/ijms23105635.

Authors

Calogero Caruso¹, Mattia Emanuela Ligotti^{1

2}, Giulia Accardi¹, Anna Aiello¹, Giovanni Duro², Damiano Galimberti³, Giuseppina Candore¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratorio di Immunopatologia e Immunosenescenza, Dipartimento di Biomedicina, Neuroscienze e Diagnostica Avanzata, Università di Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy.
² Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 90146 Palermo, Italy.
³ Associazione Italiana Medici Anti-Aging, 20133 Milan, Italy.

Abstract

Several studies on the genetics of longevity have been reviewed in this paper. The results show that, despite efforts and new technologies, only two genes, APOE and FOXO3A, involved in the protection of cardiovascular diseases, have been shown to be associated with longevity in nearly all studies. This happens because the genetic determinants of longevity are dynamic and depend on the environmental history of a given population. In fact, population-specific genes are thought to play a greater role in the attainment of longevity than those shared between different populations. Hence, it is not surprising that GWAS replicated associations of common variants with longevity have been few, if any, as these studies pool together different populations. An alternative way might be the study of long-life families. This type of approach is proving to be an ideal resource for uncovering protective alleles and associated biological signatures for healthy aging phenotypes and exceptional longevity.

Keywords: APOE; FOXO3A; GWAS; SNP; genes; long-life families; longevity; survival.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Genetics, Population
Healthy Aging*
Longevity* / genetics
Phenotype

Grants and funding

Original work performed by authors is funded by the 20157ATSLF project (Discovery of molecular and genetic/epigenetic signatures underlying resistance to age-related diseases and comorbidities), granted by the Italian Ministry of Education, University, and Research and the project Improved Vaccination Strategies for Older Adults granted by the European Commission (Horizon 2020 ID 848).