@article {7552,
	title = {The GH receptor exon 3 deletion is a marker of male-specific exceptional longevity associated with increased GH sensitivity and taller stature.},
	journal = {Sci Adv},
	volume = {3},
	year = {2017},
	month = {2017 Jun},
	pages = {e1602025},
	abstract = {<p>Although both growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling were shown to regulate life span in lower organisms, the role of GH signaling in human longevity remains unclear. Because a GH receptor exon 3 deletion (d3-GHR) appears to modulate GH sensitivity in humans, we hypothesized that this polymorphism could play a role in human longevity. We report a linear increased prevalence of d3-GHR homozygosity with age in four independent cohorts of long-lived individuals: 841 participants [567 of the Longevity Genes Project (LGP) (8\% increase; P = 0.01), 152 of the Old Order Amish (16\% increase; P = 0.02), 61 of the Cardiovascular Health Study (14.2\% increase; P = 0.14), and 61 of the French Long-Lived Study (23.5\% increase; P = 0.02)]. In addition, mega analysis of males in all cohorts resulted in a significant positive trend with age (26\% increase; P = 0.007), suggesting sexual dimorphism for GH action in longevity. Further, on average, LGP d3/d3 homozygotes were 1 inch taller than the wild-type (WT) allele carriers (P = 0.05) and also showed lower serum IGF-1 levels (P = 0.003). Multivariate regression analysis indicated that the presence of d3/d3 genotype adds approximately 10 years to life span. The LGP d3/d3-GHR transformed lymphocytes exhibited superior growth and extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation, to GH treatment relative to WT GHR lymphocytes (P < 0.01), indicating a GH dose response. The d3-GHR variant is a common genetic polymorphism that modulates GH responsiveness throughout the life span and positively affects male longevity.</p>},
	issn = {2375-2548},
	doi = {10.1126/sciadv.1602025},
	author = {Ben-Avraham, Danny and Govindaraju, Diddahally R and Budagov, Temuri and Fradin, Delphine and Durda, Peter and Liu, Bing and Ott, Sandy and Gutman, Danielle and Sharvit, Lital and Kaplan, Robert and Bougn{\`e}res, Pierre and Reiner, Alex and Shuldiner, Alan R and Cohen, Pinchas and Barzilai, Nir and Atzmon, Gil}
}
