SIRT1 variants are associated with aging in a healthy Han Chinese population

Aging is influenced by diverse environmental and genetic risk factors. The SIRT1 (silent information regulator 1) gene has been shown to regulate lifespan and aging in previous studies. We determined whether variation in the SIRT1 gene is associated with aging in healthy Chinese population.

The study population comprised 482 healthy, unrelated Chinese subjects, of which 246 were aging individuals from 60 to 91years old, and 236 younger individuals from 35 and 59years old. All subjects were from Shenyang, China. Two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were analyzed: rs3758391 near the 5' end of the SIRT1 gene; and rs4746720, in the 3' untranslated region.

Differences in allele and genotype frequency were seen between the groups, with rs3758391/C more common than rs3758391/T in the aging subjects (odds ratio=1.453, p=0.026), and with rs3758391/CC more common than rs3758391/CT and rs3758391/TT in the aging subjects (odds ratio=3.042, p=0.027). For the 3' SNP, rs4746720/C was more common than rs4746720/T in the aging subjects (odds ratio=1.347, p=0.022), and rs4746720/CC was more common than rs4746720/CT and rs4746720/CT in the aging subjects (odds ratio=1.461, p=0.049). The haplotype frequency distribution was also different, with haplotype CC more common in the older group (odds ratio=1.63, p=0.01).

These results suggest that SIRT1 gene polymorphisms may add a new factor on the multifactorial genetic contributions to aging.