Analysis of the Effect of the Longevity Associated FOXO3 Genotype on Telomerase Activity in a Japanese-Okinawan Cohort

dc.contributor.advisor Allsopp, Richard
dc.contributor.advisor WIlcox, Bradley
dc.contributor.author Patwardhan, Vasant
dc.contributor.department Molecular Cell Biology
dc.date.accessioned 2023-01-12T00:02:58Z
dc.date.available 2023-01-12T00:02:58Z
dc.date.issued 2019
dc.description.abstract Forkhead box O3 (FOXO3) is one of the few genes that has consistently correlated across multiple long-lived populations to be associated with longevity. 1,2 In a previous study, an analysis of FOXO3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) identified a specific allele as being associated with less rapid shortening of telomeres, which is a molecular marker of longevity. 3 Telomeres are tandem repeats that shorten after each cell division, and telomerase is an enzyme that adds new tandem repeats, thereby extending the telomeres and the lifespan of the cell. 4 Because previous results have shown FOXO3 protects against telomere shortening, it is expected that telomerase activity will be higher in individuals that carry the longevity-associated allele of FOXO3. It is also expected that telomerase activity will be constant with age in the longevity-associated genotype. In this study, blood was extracted from 100 participants from a Japanese-Okinawan cohort, a notably long-lived population, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated. The genotype of each sample was obtained and telomeric repeat amplification assays were performed to quantify telomerase activity, as a function of genotype, sex, and age. Results indicate that telomerase activity decreases with age for the TT genotype, but do not decrease, to the same extent, with age for G-carriers. These findings provide insight as to how FOXO3 protects against telomere attrition and link the longevity-associated G-allele to modulated telomerase activity. Keywords: Longevity, FOXO3, telomerase
dc.format.extent 33 pages
dc.identifier.uri https://hdl.handle.net/10125/104452
dc.publisher University of Hawai'i at Manoa
dc.rights All UHM Honors Projects are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner.
dc.title Analysis of the Effect of the Longevity Associated FOXO3 Genotype on Telomerase Activity in a Japanese-Okinawan Cohort
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