TY - JOUR T1 - The complex genetics of gait speed: genome-wide meta-analysis approach. JF - Aging (Albany NY) Y1 - 2017 A1 - Ben-Avraham, Dan A1 - Karasik, David A1 - Verghese, Joe A1 - Lunetta, Kathryn L A1 - Smith, Jennifer A A1 - Eicher, John D A1 - Vered, Rotem A1 - Deelen, Joris A1 - Arnold, Alice M A1 - Buchman, Aron S A1 - Tanaka, Toshiko A1 - Faul, Jessica D A1 - Nethander, Maria A1 - Fornage, Myriam A1 - Adams, Hieab H A1 - Matteini, Amy M A1 - Callisaya, Michele L A1 - Smith, Albert V A1 - Yu, Lei A1 - De Jager, Philip L A1 - Evans, Denis A A1 - Gudnason, Vilmundur A1 - Hofman, Albert A1 - Pattie, Alison A1 - Corley, Janie A1 - Launer, Lenore J A1 - Knopman, Davis S A1 - Parimi, Neeta A1 - Turner, Stephen T A1 - Bandinelli, Stefania A1 - Beekman, Marian A1 - Gutman, Danielle A1 - Sharvit, Lital A1 - Mooijaart, Simon P A1 - Liewald, David C A1 - Houwing-Duistermaat, Jeanine J A1 - Ohlsson, Claes A1 - Moed, Matthijs A1 - Verlinden, Vincent J A1 - Mellström, Dan A1 - van der Geest, Jos N A1 - Karlsson, Magnus A1 - Hernandez, Dena A1 - McWhirter, Rebekah A1 - Liu, Yongmei A1 - Thomson, Russell A1 - Tranah, Gregory J A1 - Uitterlinden, André G A1 - Weir, David R A1 - Zhao, Wei A1 - Starr, John M A1 - Johnson, Andrew D A1 - Ikram, M Arfan A1 - Bennett, David A A1 - Cummings, Steven R A1 - Deary, Ian J A1 - Harris, Tamara B A1 - Kardia, Sharon L R A1 - Mosley, Thomas H A1 - Srikanth, Velandai K A1 - Windham, Beverly G A1 - Newman, Ann B A1 - Walston, Jeremy D A1 - Davies, Gail A1 - Evans, Daniel S A1 - Slagboom, Eline P A1 - Ferrucci, Luigi A1 - Kiel, Douglas P A1 - Murabito, Joanne M A1 - Atzmon, Gil AB -

Emerging evidence suggests that the basis for variation in late-life mobility is attributable, in part, to genetic factors, which may become increasingly important with age. Our objective was to systematically assess the contribution of genetic variation to gait speed in older individuals. We conducted a meta-analysis of gait speed GWASs in 31,478 older adults from 17 cohorts of the CHARGE consortium, and validated our results in 2,588 older adults from 4 independent studies. We followed our initial discoveries with network and eQTL analysis of candidate signals in tissues. The meta-analysis resulted in a list of 536 suggestive genome wide significant SNPs in or near 69 genes. Further interrogation with Pathway Analysis placed gait speed as a polygenic complex trait in five major networks. Subsequent eQTL analysis revealed several SNPs significantly associated with the expression of PRSS16, WDSUB1 and PTPRT, which in addition to the meta-analysis and pathway suggested that genetic effects on gait speed may occur through synaptic function and neuronal development pathways. No genome-wide significant signals for gait speed were identified from this moderately large sample of older adults, suggesting that more refined physical function phenotypes will be needed to identify the genetic basis of gait speed in aging.

VL - 9 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The GH receptor exon 3 deletion is a marker of male-specific exceptional longevity associated with increased GH sensitivity and taller stature. JF - Sci Adv Y1 - 2017 A1 - Ben-Avraham, Danny A1 - Govindaraju, Diddahally R A1 - Budagov, Temuri A1 - Fradin, Delphine A1 - Durda, Peter A1 - Liu, Bing A1 - Ott, Sandy A1 - Gutman, Danielle A1 - Sharvit, Lital A1 - Kaplan, Robert A1 - Bougnères, Pierre A1 - Reiner, Alex A1 - Shuldiner, Alan R A1 - Cohen, Pinchas A1 - Barzilai, Nir A1 - Atzmon, Gil AB -

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.

VL - 3 IS - 6 ER -