Whole-genome sequencing of Chinese centenarians reveals important genetic variants in aging WGS of centenarian for genetic analysis of aging

Abstract

Background: Genetic research on longevity has provided important insights into the mechanism of aging and aging-related diseases. Pinpointing import genetic variants associated with aging could provide insights for aging research. Methods: We performed a whole-genome sequencing in 19 centenarians to establish the genetic basis of human longevity. Results: Using SKAT analysis, we found 41 significantly correlated genes in centenarians as compared to control genomes. Pathway enrichment analysis of these genes showed that immune-related pathways were enriched, suggesting that immune pathways might be critically involved in aging. HLA typing was next performed based on the whole-genome sequencing data obtained. We discovered that several HLA subtypes were significantly overrepresented. Conclusions: Our study indicated a new mechanism of longevity, suggesting potential genetic variants for further study.