Protected against ageing?

A gene variant that arose decades ago in an Amish group seems to be enough to make people live ten years longer, as well as making them less likely to develop diabetes.

The gene is called SERPINE1, and is known to make a protein that promotes ageing, known as PAI-1. But a faulty variant of this gene arose six generations ago in an Amish group, causing the people who carry one copy of the variant to produce half as much of the age-promoting protein. Researchers wondered if this might be linked to a longer lifespan in those who carry it.

Douglas Vaughan of Northwestern University, Chicago, and his team have now studied the gene in 177 members of the Old Order Amish community in Berne, Indiana, to find out. Of these, 43 people carried at least one copy of the gene variant.

The team analysed their DNA, as well as other signs of ageing, such as insulin resistance – which is linked to diabetes – and the length of the caps on the ends of their chromosomes, called telomeres. They also worked out which of 221 dead relatives would have carried the gene variant, and analysed how long each of these lived.


A decade longer

They found that people who carried at least one copy of the gene variant lived, on average, 10 years longer, dying at the median age of 85.

People with the gene variant also had 30 per cent lower levels of insulin when fasting – a sign of slower ageing. None of the carriers of the variant developed diabetes, while 7 per cent of those without the variant did. “The carriers appear to be completely protected from diabetes,” says Vaughan.

“This study adds evidence that it will be possible to extend human lifespan and healthspan,” says Brian Kennedy, of the National University of Singapore.

Telomere chromosome caps were 10 per cent longer in people carrying the variant. These caps shorten every time a cell divides, and short telomeres are a sign that the body’s cells are wearing out and ageing.

Drugs that target PAI-1 are already being developed, including one that it is hoped may prevent or alleviate baldness. “There are numerous groups that may benefit from a drug blocking PAI-1,” says Vaughan.

Journal reference: Science Advances, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aao1617

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