Genetic Variant Adds Years to Body

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Scientists have identified definitive variants located near a gene called TERC that are associated with biological aging in humans.

Professor Nilesh Samani of the University of Leicester Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, who co-led the project, explained that there are two forms of aging -- chronological aging -- i.e., how old you are in years -- and biological aging, whereby the cells of some individuals are older or younger than their chronological age might suggest.

Dr. Samani was quoted as saying, "There is accumulating evidence that the risk of age-associated diseases including heart disease and some types of cancers are more closely related to biological rather than chronological age.”

"What we studied are structures called telomeres,” said Samani, “which are parts of one's chromosomes. Individuals are born with telomeres of certain length, and in many cells telomeres shorten as the cells divide and age. Telomere length is therefore considered a marker of biological aging.”

"In this study,” he said, “what we found was that those individuals carrying a particular genetic variant had shorter telomeres, i.e., looked biologically older. Given the association of shorter telomeres with age-associated diseases, the finding raises the question whether individuals carrying the variant are at greater risk of developing such diseases."

Study co-leader Professor Tim Spector from King's College London, was quoted as saying, "The variants identified lie near a gene called TERC which is already known to play an important role in maintaining telomere length. What our study suggests is that some people are genetically programmed to age at a faster rate. The effect was quite considerable in those with the variant, equivalent to between three and four years of 'biological aging' as measured by telomere length loss. Alternatively, genetically susceptible people may age even faster when exposed to proven 'bad' environments for telomeres like smoking, obesity or lack of exercise -- and end up several years biologically older or succumbing to more age-related diseases."

SOURCE: Nature Genetics, February 7, 2010

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