Association of TGFβ1 codon 10 (T>C) and IL-10 (G>C) cytokine gene polymorphisms with longevity in a cohort of Italian population.

Longevity is a complex process controlled by both environmental and genetic factors. We evaluated the association of four cytokine gene polymorphisms with longevity in an Italian cohort. A sample of 1,019 subjects aged 10-100 and belonging to the North-Italian population was genotyped for IL-6 (G>C, rs1800796), IL-10 -1082 (G>A, rs1800896), TNF-α-308 (G>A, rs1800629), and TGFβ1 codon 10 (T>C, rs1800471) gene polymorphisms. The association between cytokine gene polymorphisms and longevity was evaluated by dividing the sample into four age groups: 10-24, 25-49, 50-85, and 86-100. We observed a significant decrease in the frequency of IL-10 A allele in the 25-49 (P = 1.1 × 10-3), 50-85 (P<1 × 10-4), and 86-100 (P = 2 × 10-3) age groups compared to that in the youngest age group. Similarly, we found a significant decrease (P<1 × 10-4) in the frequency of TGFβ1 C allele in the 50-85 and 86-100 age groups compared to that in the 10-24 and 25-49 age groups. Previously, high levels of TGFβ1 were detected in elderly subjects, suggesting that this cytokine could counterbalance the harmful effects of inflammation. Similarly, IL-10 has strong antiinflammatory properties and can inhibit the production of proinflammatory cytokines. In the literature, the lowest levels of functional cytokines were found to be associated with TGFβ1 (T>C) and IL-10 (G>A) gene polymorphisms, with consequent increase in the duration of inflammationand cancer risk. For these reasons, it is plausible to observe low rates of these mutations in elderly subjects, as found in our work.