浙江汉族人群细胞因子基因多态性分析

为了探讨浙江汉族人群13种细胞因子基因多态性的分布情况, 采用PCR-SSP对100名汉族人群的IL-1α(T/C-889)、IL-1β(C/T-511, T/C+3962)、IL-1R(C/T Pst-I 1970)、IL-1RA(T/C Mspa1-I 1100)、IL-2 (T/G -330, G/T +166)、IL-4 (T/G -1098, T/C -590, T/C -33)、IL-4Rα(G/A +1902)、IL-6 (G/C-174, G/A nt565)、IL-10 (G/A -1082, C/T -819, C/A-592)、IL-12(C/A -1188)、gIFN (A/T UTR 5644)、TGFβ(C/T codon 10, G/C codon 25)、TNFα(G/A -308, G/A -238)等细胞因子基因多态性进行分型。结果显示, (1)在检测的13种细胞因子中, TGF(G codon 25)等位基因频率为1.00, 未检测到TGF(C codon 25)等位基因; (2)细胞因子等位基因频率大于0.95的有IL-1α(C-889)、IL-1β(C +3962)、IL-4 (T –1098)、IL-6 (G-174)、IL-6(G nt565)、IL-10(A –1082)和TNFa (G -238); 频率低于0.05的有IL-1α(T -889)、IL-1β(T +3962)、IL-4(G –1098)、IL-6 (A-174)、IL-6 (A nt565)、IL-10 (G –1082) 和TNFa (A -238); (3) IL-10高表达单倍型GCC频率为0.05, 低表达单倍型ATA频率为0.735; TGF β高表达单倍型TG频率为0.49, 低表达单倍型CC频率为0; TNF a高表达单倍型AG和AA频率为0.055, 低表达单倍型GG和GA频率为0.945。结果表明, 浙江汉族人群细胞因子基因多态性较为丰富, 具有地区性遗传特征。     

内蒙古地区蒙古族HLA-A、B、DRB1基因座多态性分析

应用序列特异性寡核苷酸探针反向斑点杂交技术对内蒙古地区蒙古族106名无关健康个体的HLA-A、B和DRB1 基因座进行基因分型, 以研究内蒙古地区蒙古族人群HLA-A、B、DRB1基因座的等位基因及其组成的单倍型频率分布特征。 采用最大数学预期值算法计算HLA基因座的等位基因频率和单倍型频率。106 名内蒙古地区蒙古族个体的HLA-A、B、DRB1基因座分别检出13、29、13个等位基因。高频单倍型分别为 HLA-A*02-B*46 (0.0510); HLA-A*02-B*13(0.0495); HLA-A*02-B*51(0.0442); HLA-B*13-DRB1*07 (0.0555); HLA- B*46-DRB1*09(0.0378); HLA-B*35-DRB1*13(0.03300); HLA-A*02-B*13-DRB1*07(0.033019); HLA-A*02-B*46- DRB1*09(0.031985)。研究表明: 内蒙古地区蒙古族人群HLA基因座的等位基因和单倍型具有较高的遗传多态性。HLA- A*24-B*14, HLA-A*32-B*63在该民族具有极强的连锁不平衡。     

北方汉族人群白细胞介素-6基因-572C/G单核苷酸多态性与冠心病的相关性研究

目的:探讨中国北方汉族人群中白细胞介素-6(IL-6)基因启动子区-572C/G单核苷酸多态性与冠心病的关系。方法:采用聚合酶链反应-限制性片段长度多态性(PCR-RFLP)方法,检测434例冠心病(冠心病组)患者和417名非冠心病人(对照组)的IL-6基因型,探讨-572C/G单核苷酸多态与冠心病的关系。结果:IL-6基因-572C/G多态位点的CC、CG和GG基因型在冠心病组中分别为59.68%、37.09%、3.23%,等位基因频率C和G分别为78.23%、21.77%;在健康成年者中基因型分别为67.87%、30.22%、1.92%,等位基因频率C和G分别为82.97%、17.03%。IL-6基因-572C/G位点多态性在两组人群中的分布差异存在显著性(P<0.05);经Logsitic回归校正性别、年龄、体重指数、高血压病、糖尿病、高胆固醇血症及吸烟等冠心病易患因素后,IL-6基因-572C/G单核苷酸多态是冠心病发病的独立的危险因素(P<0.05);等位基因频率的相对风险分析发现,G等位基因携带者患冠心病的风险是C等位基因的1.356倍〔OR=1.356,95%CI=1.0648～1.7279〕。...     

陕北白绒山羊DRB1基因多态性与球虫病的相关性分析

本研究旨在探讨陕北白绒山羊MHC (主要组织相容性复合体)基因与疾病抗性的关系,通过对98只陕北白绒山羊DRB1基因外显子2多态性与球虫病的相关性研究,共获得17条等位基因和29种基因型,其中10条等位基因是首次发现。生物信息学分析表明DRB1位点具有高度多态性,且不同等位基因预测的蛋白质结构存在明显差异,说明这种基因可能通过抗原呈递分子结构的改变影响宿主对病原体的免疫应答。相关性分析发现DRB1*16等位基因频率与球虫感染强度呈显著负相关(p0.05),提示该等位基因可能与相关抗原呈递及抗性的产生有关。本次对陕北白绒山羊DRB1基因多态性及其与球虫病的相关性分析有助于筛选疾病抗性和易感性相关基因,进而可加速绒山羊抗病品系的培育进程。     

酒精依赖综合征患者DRD2、DRD4和DAT基因多态性的研究

目的:探讨云南地区人群中DRD2(TaqIA、-141C)、DRD4和DAT基因多态性与酒精依赖的相关性.方法:采用聚合酶链式反应-限制性片断长度多态性(PCR-RFLP)分析技术以及聚合酶链式反应-可变数目串联重复序列多态性(PCR-VNTR)分析技术检测酒依赖组(80例)和对照组(70例)在3个候选基因中的基因型和等位基因频率.结果:上述三个基因多态性的基因型和等位基因频率在酒依赖组和对照组中差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05),对DRD2基因中的TaqIA和-141C进行单倍型分析时发现,Del/Al是一种保护单倍型,能抑制酒依赖综合征的发生.结论:在云南地区人群中,携带有Del/Al单倍型基因的人不易形成酒依赖.     

天津地区人群hMLH1和hMSH2基因多态性与散发性结直肠癌易感性的关系

为探讨错配修复基因hMLH1和hMSH2单核苷酸多态性(Single nucleotide polymorphism,SNP)与散发性结直肠癌(Sporadic colorectal caner,SCRC)发病易感性之间的关系,文章采用聚合酶链式反应-变性高效液相色谱方法和序列分析技术,检测了天津地区600例SCRC患者和600例健康对照个体hMLH1394G/C、hMSH2943-1G/A、hMSH21917T/G和hMSH22783C/A的基因型频率分布。结果显示:SCRC患者组hMSH22783C/A3种基因型C/C、C/A、A/A频率(90%、9%、1%)与对照组(95%、4.8%、0.2%)相比差异具有统计学意义(χ2=11.91,P0.01)。与hMSH22783C/C基因型相比,C/A和A/A基因型能增加SCRC发病风险(OR值分别为1.77和11.94,95%CI分别为1.03～3.03和1.38～103.2)。多态性位点联合分析显示,SCRC组与对照组单倍型分布差异有统计学意义(χ2=38.38,P0.01);与394G/943-1G/2783C单倍型相比,394G/943-1G/2783A单倍型显著增加SCRC的发病风险(OR=2.18,95%CI:1.40～3.40)。结果提示hMSH22783C/A多态性可能成为预测SCRC发病风险的独立因素,394G/943-1G/2783A单倍型可能增加SCRC的发病风险。     

河西绒山羊DRB3基因外显子2多态性分析

研究采用PCR-SSCP方法检测1 046只河西绒山羊DRB3基因第2外显子的多态性,并克隆、测序群体内变异产生的各等位基因,分析各等位基因间的遗传关系和进化意义。结果表明,河西绒山羊DRB3基因第2外显子表现了18个等位基因(LG001-LG018)控制的31个基因型,LG005为优势等位基因,LG005*005为优势基因型,18个单倍型序列分析发现44个核苷酸多态位点、29个氨基酸多态位点;与GenBank下载序列比对分析结果表明,16个DRB3的等位基因是本研究首次发现;DRB3基因遗传多态指数中,观察杂合度为0.269 6,多态信息含量为0.869 9,有效等位基因数为1.369 1;经χ2适合性检验,该群体偏离了Hardy-Weinberg平衡状态(P<0.05);18个DRB3基因外显子2的单倍型序列NJ系统发育树呈2支分化趋势。研究认为河西绒山羊DRB3基因第2外显子具有丰富的遗传多态性;河西绒山羊DRB3基因最初由2个等位基因突变分化成两大类等位基因。     

白介素-18 基因多态性与黑龙江省汉族人群心房颤动相关性

目的:探讨白介素-18(IL-18)基因启动子区-137G/C(rs187238)位点和-607A/C(rs1946518)位点的等位基因、基因型、单体型与黑龙江省汉族人群心房颤动发病风险的相关性。方法:选取56例心房颤动患者和26例对照者,心房颤动患者按持续时间分为阵发房颤组和持续房颤组。采用聚合酶链式反应(PCR)和直接测序法(DS)对所选2个SNPs位点的基因型进行检测。结果:1黑龙江省地区汉族人群中IL-18基因启动子区-607A/C位点存在AA、AC、GG三种基因型,-137C/G位点存在CC、GC、GG三种基因型。2各心房颤动患者组与对照组间IL-18基因启动子区-137G/C(rs187238)位点和-607A/C(rs1946518)位点的基因型和等位基因频率比较均无显著性差异(P0.05)。3IL-18基因启动子区-137G/C(rs187238)位点和-607 A/C(rs1946518)位点有CA、CC、GA、GC四种单倍体型,各组单倍体型分布频率比较均无统计学差异(P0.05。4IL-18基因启动子区-137G/C(rs187238)位点和-607 A/C(rs1946518)位点的基因型和等位基因频率与AF患者的发病年龄均无统计学相关性(P0.05)。结论:IL-18基因启动子区-607A/C(rs1946518)位点和-137G/C(rs187238)位点不是黑龙江省汉族人群心房颤动的易感基因,可能与其心房颤动的发病风险无关。     

长寿和衰老基因及相关基因研究进展

简要介绍了长寿和衰老基因及相关基因在酵母、线虫、果蝇和哺乳动物中的最新遗传学研究进展；概述了“生物钟”、端粒和端粒酶在人类长寿和衰老进程中的重要作用。相信随着人类遗传学和分子生物学研究的深入，将有更多的长寿和衰老基因及相关基因被发现，为揭示衰老机制和延年益寿提供依据。     

SLAⅠ类基因最新命名进展

介绍了国际动物遗传学会（ISAG）SLA命名委员会2004年制定的依据基因测序及进化树分析的SLAⅠ类基因系统命名法,详细叙述了对SLAⅠ类基因座、等位基因组、等位基因及单倍型的命名规则,其中概括介绍了命名新等位基因对基因序列的具体要求。SLAⅠ类基因系统命名法对于人类移植免疫学、猪免疫遗传及抗病育种具有重要意义。     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">KIR</Emphasis> haplotype content at the allele level in 77 Northern Irish families

There has been an explosion in population studies determining the frequency of KIR genes. However, there is still limited knowledge of allele and haplotype frequencies in different populations. The present study aims to determine the haplotype frequencies using allele information on ten genes and presence/absence of the other seven genes in the parents of 77 families. There were 26 of 154 different genotypes without using allele information and 143 of 154 different genotypes using allele information. These genotypes came from 96 of 308 different haplotypes. Of these, 41 were A and 55 were B. Forty-nine haplotypes occurred only once. In total, 181 (58.8%) of haplotypes were A and 127 (41.2%) were B. Three different haplotypes carried two copies of KIR2DL4, two different haplotypes were truncated with both KIR2DL4 and KIR3DL1/S1 missing, and three different haplotypes were negative for both KIR2DL2 and KIR2DL3; two of these haplotypes carried KIR2DS2. A further haplotype, present in two individuals, appeared to have two alleles of KIR2DL5A present. The percentages of individuals who were homozygous for the A haplotype, heterozygous for the A and B haplotype and homozygous for the B haplotype were 35.1%, 47.4% and 17.5% respectively. The genes KIR3DL1, KIR2DS4 and KIR2DL3 were present on 31, 32 and 15 different B haplotypes, respectively, and 64, 65 and 40 of the total B haplotypes, respectively. Sixty B haplotypes had both KIR3DL1 and KIR2DS4, and four haplotypes had KIR2DS4 and KIR2DL3. However, in 40 of 41 different and 180 of 181 total A haplotypes, KIR3DL1, KIR2DS4 and KIR2DL3 were all present (we did not allele-type for KIR2DL1 and therefore could not determine presence/absence on those haplotypes). At the allele level, homozygosity was found in 22.1%, 9.7% and 12.6% for KIR2DL4, KIR3DL2 and KIR3DL1 genes, respectively, but 62.6% and 53% for KIR2DL3 and KIR2DS4 genes, respectively, despite the fact that no one allele dominated the frequency in any of these genes.     

Allele-Level Haplotype Frequencies and Pairwise Linkage Disequilibrium for 14 KIR Loci in 506 European-American Individuals

The immune responses of natural killer cells are regulated, in part, by killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR). The 16 closely-related genes in the KIR gene system have been diversified by gene duplication and unequal crossing over, thereby generating haplotypes with variation in gene copy number. Allelic variation also contributes to diversity within the complex. In this study, we estimated allele-level haplotype frequencies and pairwise linkage disequilibrium statistics for 14 KIR loci. The typing utilized multiple methodologies by four laboratories to provide at least 2x coverage for each allele. The computational methods generated maximum-likelihood estimates of allele-level haplotypes. Our results indicate the most extensive allele diversity was observed for the KIR framework genes and for the genes localized to the telomeric region of the KIR A haplotype. Particular alleles of the stimulatory loci appear to be nearly fixed on specific, common haplotypes while many of the less frequent alleles of the inhibitory loci appeared on multiple haplotypes, some with common haplotype structures. Haplotype structures cA01 and/or tA01 predominate in this cohort, as has been observed in most populations worldwide. Linkage disequilibrium is high within the centromeric and telomeric haplotype regions but not between them and is particularly strong between centromeric gene pairs KIR2DL5∼KIR2DS3S5 and KIR2DS3S5∼KIR2DL1, and telomeric KIR3DL1∼KIR2DS4. Although 93% of the individuals have unique pairs of full-length allelic haplotypes, large genomic blocks sharing specific sets of alleles are seen in the most frequent haplotypes. These high-resolution, high-quality haplotypes extend our basic knowledge of the KIR gene system and may be used to support clinical studies beyond single gene analysis.     

Killer Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor (KIR) Centromeric-AA Haplotype Is Associated with Ethnicity and Tuberculosis Disease in a Canadian First Nations Cohort

Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) on natural killer (NK) cells interact with other immune cells to monitor the immune system and combat infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis (TB). The balance of activating and inhibiting KIR interactions helps determine the NK cell response. In order to examine the enrichment or depletion of KIRs as well as to explore the association between TB status and inhibitory/stimulatory KIR haplotypes, we performed KIR genotyping on samples from 93 Canadian First Nations (Dene, Cree, and Ojibwa) individuals from Manitoba with active, latent, or no TB infection, and 75 uninfected Caucasian controls. There were significant differences in KIR genes between Caucasians and First Nations samples and also between the First Nations ethnocultural groups (Dene, Cree, and Ojibwa). When analyzing ethnicity and tuberculosis status in the study population, it appears that the KIR profile and centromeric haplotype are more predictive than the presence or absence of individual genes. Specifically, the decreased presence of haplotype B centromeric genes and increased presence of centromeric-AA haplotypes in First Nations may contribute to an inhibitory immune profile, explaining the high rates of TB in this population.     

Evolution of killer cell Ig-like receptor (KIR) genes: definition of an orangutan KIR haplotype reveals expansion of lineage III KIR associated with the emergence of MHC-C

Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) MHC-C appears less evolved than human HLA-C: Popy-C is not fixed and its alleles encode only one (C1) of the two motifs for killer cell Ig-like receptor (KIR) ligands. To assess the structure and complexity of the orangutan KIR locus, the complete nucleotide sequence of an orangutan KIR haplotype was determined. The PopyKIR locus is flanked by LILR and FCAR and consists of seven genes and pseudogenes, two novel and five corresponding to known cDNA. Distinguishing all KIRs in this rapidly evolving KIR locus from the KIR3DX1 gene is an LTR33A/MLT1D element in intron 3. These two forms of KIR represent lineages that originated by duplication of a common ancestor. The conserved, framework regions of primate KIR loci comprise the 5' part of a lineage V KIR, the 3' part of a pseudogene, the complete 2DL4 gene, and the 3' part of a lineage II KIR. Although previously defined PopyKIR2DL4 alleles contain premature termination codons, the sequenced haplotype's PopyKIR2DL4 allele encodes a full-length protein. A model for KIR evolution is proposed. Distinguishing the orangutan KIR haplotype from the proposed common ancestor of primate KIR haplotypes is an increased number to give three lineage III KIR genes in the centromeric part of the locus, the site for most human lineage III genes encoding HLA-C specific KIR. Thus, expansion of lineage III KIR is associated with emergence of MHC-C.     

Importance of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II alleles on the risk of multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex disease of the central nervous system of unknown etiology. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) locus on chromosome 6 confers a considerable part of the susceptibility to MS, and the most important factor is the class II allele HLA-DRB1*15:01. In addition, we and others have previously established a protective effect of HLA-A*02. Here, we genotyped 1,784 patients and 1,660 healthy controls from Scandinavia for the HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C and HLA-DRB1 genes and investigated their effects on MS risk by logistic regression. Several allele groups were found to exert effects independently of DRB1*15 and A*02, in particular DRB1*01 (OR = 0.82, p = 0.034) and B*12 (including B*44/45, OR = 0.76, p = 0.0028), confirming previous reports. Furthermore, we observed interaction between allele groups: DRB1*15 and DRB1*01 (multiplicative: OR = 0.54, p = 0.0041; additive: AP = 0.47, p = 4 × 10(-06)), DRB1*15 and C*12 (multiplicative: OR = 0.37, p = 0.00035; additive: AP = 0.58, p = 2.6 × 10(-05)), indicating that the effect size of these allele groups varies when taking DRB1*15 into account. Analysis of inferred haplotypes showed that almost all DRB1*15 bearing haplotypes were risk haplotypes, and that all A*02 bearing haplotypes were protective as long as they did not carry DRB1*15. In contrast, we found one class I haplotype, carrying A*02-C*05-B*12, which abolished the risk of DRB1*15. In conclusion, these results confirms a complex role of HLA class I and II genes that goes beyond DRB1*15 and A*02, in particular by including all three classical HLA class I genes as well as functional interactions between DRB1*15 and several alleles of DRB1 and class I genes.     

Haplotype inference for present-absent genotype data using previously identified haplotypes and haplotype patterns

MOTIVATION: Killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes vary considerably in their presence or absence on a specific regional haplotype. Because presence or absence of these genes is largely detected using locus-specific genotyping technology, the distinction between homozygosity and hemizygosity is often ambiguous. The performance of methods for haplotype inference (e.g. PL-EM, PHASE) for KIR genes may be compromised due to the large portion of ambiguous data. At the same time, many haplotypes or partial haplotype patterns have been previously identified and can be incorporated to facilitate haplotype inference for unphased genotype data. To accommodate the increased ambiguity of present-absent genotyping of KIR genes, we developed a hybrid approach combining a greedy algorithm with the Expectation-Maximization (EM) method for haplotype inference based on previously identified haplotypes and haplotype patterns. RESULTS: We implemented this algorithm in a software package named HAPLO-IHP (Haplotype inference using identified haplotype patterns) and compared its performance with that of HAPLORE and PHASE on simulated KIR genotypes. We compared five measures in order to evaluate the reliability of haplotype assignments and the accuracy in estimating haplotype frequency. Our method outperformed the two existing techniques by all five measures when either 60% or 25% of previously identified haplotypes were incorporated into the analyses. AVAILABILITY: The HAPLO-IHP is available at http://www.soph.uab.edu/Statgenetics/People/KZhang/HAPLO-IHP/index.html. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.     

Analysis of extended HLA haplotypes in multiple sclerosis and narcolepsy families confirms a predisposing effect for the class I region in Tasmanian MS patients

Human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1*15 is associated with predisposition to multiple sclerosis (MS), although conjecture surrounds the possible involvement of an alternate risk locus in the class I region of the HLA complex. We have shown previously that an alternate MS risk allele(s) may be encompassed by the telomerically extended DRB1*15 haplotype, and here, we have attempted to map the putative variant. Thirteen microsatellite markers encompassing a 6.79-megabase (D6S2236-G51152) region, and the DRB1 and DQB1 genes, were genotyped in 166 MS simplex families and 104 control families from the Australian State of Tasmania and 153 narcolepsy simplex families (trios) from the USA. Complementary approaches were used to investigate residual predisposing effects of microsatellite alleles comprising the extended DRB1*15 haplotype taking into account the strong predisposing effect of DRB1*15: (1) Disease association of the extended DRB1*15 haplotype was compared for MS and narcolepsy families--predisposing effects were observed for extended class I microsatellite marker alleles in MS families, but not narcolepsy families; (2) disease association of the extended DRB1*15 haplotype was investigated after conditioning MS and control haplotypes on the absence of DRB1*15--a significant predisposing effect was observed for a 627-kb haplotype (D6S258 allele 8-MOGCA allele 4; MOG, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein) spanning the extended class I region. MOGCA allele 4 displayed the strongest predisposing effect in DRB1*15-conditioned haplotypes (p = 0.0006; OR 2.83 [1.54-5.19]). Together, these data confirm that an alternate MS risk locus exists in the extended class I region in Tasmanian MS patients independent of DRB1*15.     

Distribution of functional polymorphic variants of inflammation-related genes RANTES and CCR5 in long-lived individuals

Although persistent inflammation has been related to unsuccessful aging, a pro-inflammatory status is the common phenotype in older people. To assess for a genetic component in the inflammatory status of the oldest we studied the distribution of two polymorphic chemokine pathway genes, RANTES and CCR5, in elderly. RANTES -403G/A and RANTES Int1.1T/C polymorphisms and CCR5Δ32 polymorphism were genotyped in 104 elderly and 110 controls. RANTES -403A and RANTES Int1.1C alleles have been associated with pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory status, respectively. CCR5Δ32 abrogates functional receptor expression of the pro-inflammatory CCR5-mediated action. Prevalence of RANTES -403G allele, associated in other studies with high RANTES production, was reduced in elderly males, compared with controls. In addition, RANTES pro-inflammatory haplotype -403A-Int1.1T was overrepresented in elderly males, while RANTES anti-inflammatory haplotype -403G-Int1.1C was overrepresented in elderly females. Our results suggest a sex-specific RANTES inflammatory genetic determinant that could contribute to the known sex-related differences in aging.     

Cutting edge: expansion of the KIR locus by unequal crossing over

The killer Ig-like receptor (KIR) genes have high sequence similarity and are organized in a head-to-tail fashion. These properties may enhance misalignment of homologous chromosomes during synapsis preceding meiotic recombination, resulting in unequal crossing over. We have identified an extended KIR haplotype that contains a novel hybrid gene and two copies of each of two previously described KIR genes. A parsimonious mechanism for the derivation of this haplotype invokes unequal crossing over between two known ancestral KIR haplotypes. These data raise the possibility that unequal crossing over may be responsible in part for the expansion/contraction of KIR haplotypes as well as other homologous gene families that map in tandem.     

The G/C915 polymorphism of transforming growth factor beta1 is associated with human longevity: a study in Italian centenarians

Sequence variations in a variety of pro- or anti-inflammatory cytokine genes have been found to influence successful aging and longevity. Because of the role played by the transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1) cytokine in inflammation and regulation of immune responses, the variability of the TGF-beta1 gene may affect longevity by playing a role in inflamm-aging. Two polymorphisms, G/A -800 and C/T -509, located in the 5' region, and two missense polymorphisms, T/C 869 and G/C 915 which change (Leu > Pro)10 and (Arg > Pro)25, respectively, located in the signal peptide, were analysed in 419 subjects from Northern and Central Italy, including 172 centenarians and 247 younger controls. In addition, the effects of the TGF-beta1 genetic variability on plasma levels of the biologically active form (naturally processed) of this cytokine were studied in 143 randomly selected subjects, including 73 centenarians. Significant differences were found at the +915 site as far as the C allele and GC genotype were concerned, both of them being lower in centenarians than in young controls (P=0.034 and 0.028, respectively), but none of the other tested genetic variants was significantly different between centenarians and controls. Moreover, a particular haplotype combination (G -800/C -509/C 869/C 915) was notably lower in centenarians than in younger individuals (P=0.007). Finally, active TGF-beta1 plasma levels were significantly increased in the elderly group, but no relationship with TGF-beta1 genotypes was observed. These results suggest that, at least in this population, the variability of the TGF-beta1 gene influences longevity and that the age-related increase in plasma levels of active TGF-beta1 seems not to be genetically regulated.