Abstract
BACKGROUND: To investigate whether the mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) rs1937 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is associated with longevity. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study among Chinese long-lived individuals (≥90 years). Data were obtained on 3294 participants who were able to voluntarily provided a saliva sample during 2008-2009 from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). In this study, 1387 young elderly (65-74 years) were allocated to the control group, and 1907 long-lived individuals were recruited as the case group. SNP rs1937 on TFAM were genotyped. Logistic regression models were applied to evaluate the association between rs1937 SNP and longevity. RESULTS: The genotype frequency of the SNP of rs1937 in the two groups had a significant difference (p = 0.003). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that compared to younger elderly, the long-lived individuals with "CC genotype" of rs1937 were more closely related to increased longevity than those with "GG genotype" (OR: 1.989, 95% CI: 1.160-3.411). The positive association between rs1937 SNP and longevity was robust in stratified analyses and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS: We found the SNP of rs1937 may be a potential biomarker for longer human life span. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the biological mechanism of rs1937 on TFAM with promoting longevity.