Secret to living a long life unlocked - study

Those who live past 100-years-old have ‘elite cells’ that have more immunity to age-related disease, a new study found. 

Researchers analyzed novel single cells from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of seven centenarians and 52 younger people. The peer-reviewed study has been published in the journal eBioMedicine. 

The global life expectancy in 2019 was 73.4-years-old, according to the World Health Organization. In 2023, the life expectancy for Israel is 83.49-years-old, according to Macrotrends. 

Many people resort to diets and expensive treatments to avoid aging, but a large component is genetic.

Findings of the study

The data confirmed that there are differences in the ratio of lymphocytes to myeloid cells and noncytotoxic to cytotoxic cell distributions with aging. This suggests a history of exposure to immunogens.

“Our analysis identified three patterns of age-related changes: monotonic changes across the lifespan, age-related changes that are absent in the EL group, and changes that are unique to centenarians,” the researchers wrote.

The study also found shifts from CD4 T cells to B cells populations in those aged 100+. CD4 T cells help to coordinate the immune system by stimulating other immune cells. Diseases like HIV work by weakening the CD4 T cells.

Additionally, centenarians have an increased expression of STK17A, a gene known to be involved in DNA damage response. STK17A is a Protein Coding gene that acts as a positive regulator of apoptosis (the death of cells) and as a regulator of cellular reactive oxygen species.

Despite the findings, the authors of the research note that more research is needed. The small data sample for centenarians are insufficient to detect strong transcriptional changes that characterize extended life.

The researchers added that “Access to the peripheral blood of centenarian offspring and studying longitudinal changes in PBMC populations may help to better define immunocompetence causal drivers of the beneficial health outcome observed in [extended life].”