Genetic Factors and Human Longevity

Complex interrelationships between age-associated illnesses such as vascular disease and AD indicate that biological and genetic pathways may be worthy of examination in centenarian populations to provide insights into human longevity. This is also borne out by the involvement of lipoprotein 

APOE has three common isoforms, namely, E2, E3, and E4, which are coded by the APOE alleles e2, e3, and e4 at a single locus on chromosome 19. The APOE gene has been extensively examined in populations worldwide for its association with an increased risk for CAD and AD [25, 34] and has also been evaluated in centenarian populations in different studies. 

In a recent study we showed that the frequency of the e4 allele was significantly higher in middle-aged subjects than in centenarians, indicating selection against e4 alleles. In the same study the e2 allele was found to be increased in centenarians, although not significantly [23] (Table 2). Our study 

Principal Studies on Gene Polymorphisms Likely Involved in Human Longevity 

Shachter et al., 1994 The APOEe4 allele frequency was significantly decreased in centenarians versus middle-aged controls (0.05 vs. 0.11 p . 001), while the APOEe2 allele frequency was significantly increased (0.13 versus 0.07 p . 01). 

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Panza F, D lntrono A, Colacicco AM, Capurso C, Capurso S, Kehoe PG, Capurso A, Solfrizzi V. Vascular genetic factors and human longevity. Mech Agein Dev 2004 125 169-178. 

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