Apolipoprotein E and longevity among Han Chinese population.

The apolipoprotein E gene (APOE), which locates on chromosome 19, has three common APOE alleles encoding APOE*2, APOE*3, APOE*4. It has been considered to be closely associated with human longevity among Western population. However, the allele frequency varies among racial and ethnic groups. We studied the relationship between APOE and longevity among 1562 Han Chinese (246 female and 1316 male) whose ages ranged from 20-108 years old in Shanghai metropolitan area and Lian Yungang, Jiangsu province. APOE was amplified by one-stage PCR using the forward primer: 5'-GGC ACG GCT GTC CAA GGA GCT-3' and reverse primer: 5'-GAT GGC GCT GAG GCC GCG CT-3'. The PCR product was digested directly with 5 U of CfoI and separated by a 20% polyacrylamide (acrylamide:bisacrylamide = 29:1) nondenaturing gel. The allele frequency of APOE*4 in thevery old age group (> or = 85 years) was significantly different from that in the youth (20-39 years), middle (40-59 years) and old (60-84 years) age group (2.5% vs 8.4, 7.9 or 7.6%; P < 0.05), respectively.

Behavior pattern, arterial partial pressure of oxygen, superoxide dismutase, micro-blood-flow state and longevity or aging.

It is believed that the mechanisms of aging or longevity are multifactorial. We selected four major postnatal factors to verify the mechanisms of longevity and aging. Type B behavior is strongly associated with longevity. The frequency of Type B behavior pattern (55.5 vs. 26.6%) was significantly higher while Type A behavior pattern (2.4 vs. 5.9%) was much lower in the longevity group compared with those in the elderly group (P < 0.01). The decline of arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) might relate to the aging process which was supported by two facts: (1) low PaO2 might lead to high frequency of chromosomal aberrations, the frequency of chromosomal aberrations was 1.22+/-0.53%, 0.57+/-0.23% and 0.23+/-0.22% in PaO2 < 75, 75-84 or > or = 85 mmHg groups respectively (P < 0.025); (2) the lower the PaO2, the more serious the retina arteriosclerosis. Five mean contents of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in erythrocytes were 626+/-39, 583+/-56, 556+/-43, 547+/-49 and 557+/-40 microg/gHb in different age groups. No significant differences were found in the longevity group as compared with those in 40-89 years old age groups (P > 0.05), but a significantly lower level was found in the middle rather than the young age group (P < 0.05). The studies of thixotropy show that micro-blood-flow state also sustains a better condition in the longevity group. We consider Type B behavior pattern, a higher PaO2, a better micro-blood-flow and a higher level of SOD of erythrocytes may be beneficial for longevity.