Project description:In this study, we employed massively parallel sequencing technology to identify miRNAs expressed in B-cells from Ashkenazi Jewish centenarians, i.e., those living to a hundred and a human model of exceptional longevity, and younger controls without a family history of longevity. With data from 26.7 million reads comprising 9.4x108 bp from 3 centenarian and 3 control individuals, we discovered a total of 276 known miRNAs and 8 unknown miRNAs ranging several orders of magnitude in expression levels. A total of 22 miRNAs were found to be significantly upregulated, with only 2 miRNAs downregulated, in centenarians as compared to controls.
Project description:In this study, we employed massively parallel sequencing technology to identify miRNAs expressed in B-cells from Ashkenazi Jewish centenarians, i.e., those living to a hundred and a human model of exceptional longevity, and younger controls without a family history of longevity. With data from 26.7 million reads comprising 9.4x108 bp from 3 centenarian and 3 control individuals, we discovered a total of 276 known miRNAs and 8 unknown miRNAs ranging several orders of magnitude in expression levels. A total of 22 miRNAs were found to be significantly upregulated, with only 2 miRNAs downregulated, in centenarians as compared to controls. Examination of miRNA profile of two different ages
Project description:The Ashkenazi Jewish population has long been considered a genetic isolate and presumed to have the genetic signatures of founder effects and isolation. We genotyped a large cohort of Ashkenazi Jews and analyzed their genetic structure compared to other worldwide populations.
Project description:The Ashkenazi Jewish population has long been considered a genetic isolate and presumed to have the genetic signatures of founder effects and isolation. We genotyped a large cohort of Ashkenazi Jews and analyzed their genetic structure compared to other worldwide populations. We genotyped 471 normal control Ashkenazi Jewish individuals with the Affymetrix 6.0 array and analyzed their genetic structure relative to other Europe and worldwide populations. We measured heterozygosity, linkage disequilibrium, identity-by-descent and used extended haplotype tests of positive selection.
Project description:Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) is a deacylase and mono-ADP ribosyl transferase (mADPr) enzyme involved in multiple cellular pathways implicated in the regulation of aging and metabolism. Targeted sequencing identified a SIRT6 allele containing two linked substitutions (N308K/A313S) as enriched in Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) centenarians as compared to AJ control individuals. Characterization of this SIRT6 (centSIRT6) allele demonstrated it to be a stronger suppressor of LINE1 retrotransposons, confer enhanced stimulation of DNA double strand break repair, and more robust cancer cell killing compared to the wild type. Surprisingly, centSIRT6 displayed weaker deacetylase activity, but stronger mADPr activity, over a range of NAD+ concentrations and substrates. Additionally, centSIRT6 displayed a stronger interaction with Lamin A/C (LMNA), which correlated with enhanced ribosylation of LMNA. Our results suggest that enhanced SIRT6 function contributes to human longevity by improving genome maintenance via increased mADPr activity and enhanced interaction with LMNA.
