News highlights

Genetic variant linked to biological ageing

08 Feb 2010, PR 29/10

Scientists from King’s and the University of Leicester have for the first time identified definitive variants associated with biological ageing in humans. The discovery has important implications for the understanding of cancer and age associated diseases.

The team analyzed more than 500,000 genetic variations across the entire human genome to identify the variants which are located near a gene called TERC. The study was conducted in collaboration with the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and has been published in Nature Genetics today.

The researchers explained that there are two forms of ageing – chronological ageing i.e. how old someone is in years, and biological ageing whereby the cells of some individuals are older (or younger) than suggested by their actual age.

Professor Tim Spector at King's, Director of the TwinsUK cohort, who co-led this project, added: 'The variants identified lie near a gene called TERC which is already known to play an important role in maintaining telomere length. What our study suggests is that some people are genetically programmed to age at a faster rate. The effect was quite considerable in those with the variant, equivalent to between three to four years of biological ageing as measured by telomere length loss.

'Alternatively genetically susceptible people may age even faster when exposed to proven bad environments for telomeres like smoking, obesity or lack of exercise – and end up several years biologically older or succumbing to more age-related diseases.'

Professor Nilesh Samani from the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Leicester said: 'There is accumulating evidence that the risk of age-associated diseases including heart disease and some types of cancers are more closely related to biological rather than chronological age. What we studied are structures called telomeres which are parts of one’s chromosomes. Individuals are born with telomeres of certain length and in many cells telomeres shorten as the cells divide and age. Telomere length is therefore considered a marker of biological ageing.

'In this study what we found was that those individuals carrying a particular genetic variant had shorter telomeres i.e. looked biologically older. Given the association of shorter telomeres with age-associated diseases, the finding raises the question whether individuals carrying the variant are at greater risk of developing such diseases.'



Notes to editors

The paper
The paper was published online in Nature Genetics on 07 February 2010. To view the paper, please visit http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics/ 

The study
The study was funded by The Wellcome Trust and the British Heart Foundation.

The Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology
The Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology at King's College London has a database of 12,000 twins and studies a wide variety of diseases and human behaviours and traits, leading to several high profile publications. The research at the department is supported by the Wellcome Trust. For more information and pdf-copies of other publications please phone: 020 7188 6765 or visit the website: www.twinsUK.ac.uk

King's College London
King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher Education 2009) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has more than 21,000 students from nearly 140 countries, and more than 5,700 employees. King's is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.

King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £450 million.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.

King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: www.kingshealthpartners.org.



Further information
Kate Moore, Public Relations Officer (Health)
Public Relations Department
Email: kate.moore@kcl.ac.uk
Tel: 020 7848 4334



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