RESUMO
Objective To explore the telomere length (TL) in buccal cells and its possible implications for long-lived families of Zhuang nationality in Bama area of Guangxi.Methods Relative TL in buccal cells from Bama long-lived families (BLF,n=1250) was determined by real time PCR and compared between Bama non-long-lived families (BNLF,n=556) and Pingguo longlived families (PLF,n=630).All participants were Zhuang ethnic.Results The TL in buccal cells was negatively correlated with age (R=-0.215,P=0.000) and was independent of sex in all subjects (n=2436).There were no significant differences in TL between males and females in different of ages in BLF (all P＞0.05).Similar tendency was observed in most but not all age groups in the two other families.The TL was significantly longer in BLF aged over 65 years (the first offspring of the longlived individual) than in BNLF aged over 65 years (1.969 vs.1.622,P=0.004) and the TL of BLF aged over 90 years was comparable to that of BNLF aged over 65 years (1.662 vs.1.622,P=0.955),which indicating that the offspring of long-lived individuals inherited longer TL from their parental generation.Conclusions Telomere length is shorten with aging in long-lived families in Bama area.The TL of BLF has a tendency of inheritance,which may be one of the mechanisms of longevity in Bama area.