Associations of polymorphisms in adiponectin and leptin genes with men's longevity

Adipokines are important for regulation body metabolism and immune response. Many studies have shown that variants in adipokines genes play a role in age-associated diseases. In this study, we investigated the contribution of rs266729 (-11377G/C), rs2241766 (+45T/G), and rs1501299 (+276 G/T) SNPs of adiponectin gene (ADIPQO) and rs7799039 (-2548C/A) SNP of leptin (LEP) gene to human longevity phenotype in Jordanian population. Polymorphisms were genotyped in 110 randomly selected elderly subjects (>85 years old) with mean age of 90.2 years, and 120 young control subjects (range from 20 to 50 years) with mean age of 32.0 years. No significant differences were detected in the genotype and allele frequencies of examined gene variants between the two groups (p>0.05). However, when gender was considered, genotypes and alleles frequencies of rs1501299 SNP in ADIPOQ gene and rs7799039 in LEP gene were significantly associated with longevity in men (p<0.02) but not in women (p>0.05). Thus, ADIPOQ and LEP genes polymorphisms might play a gender-specific role in the pathway to men's longevity.