In this study, we have demonstrated that common SIRT1 variation does not appear to be associated with exceptional human longevity, despite the fact that the gene is considered an important player in pathways that modulate lifespan in a wide range of organisms, and possibly also in humans.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all probands for their participation. We are grateful to I. Urbach, T. Henke and T. Wesse for technical assistance. This study was funded by the Federal Ministry of Science and Education through an Explorative Project of the National Genome Research Network (NGFN-2).

References

Barrett, J.C., Fry, B., Maller, J., Daly, M.J., 2005. Haploview: analysis and visualization of LD and haplotype maps. Bioinformatics 21, 263–265.

the SIRT

gene, human silent information regulator Sir

homologue, and survivorship in the elderly. Exp. Gerontol.

,

–

Tissenbaum, H.A., Guarente, L.,

Increased dosage of a sir-

gene extends lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature

,

–

Vaziri, H., Dessain, S.K., Ng Eaton, E., Imai, S.I., Frye, R.A., Pandita, T.K., Guarente, L., Weinberg, R.A.,

IR

(SIRT

) functions as an NAD- dependent p

deacetylase. Cell

,

–

Wood, J.G., Rogina, B., Lavu, S., Howitz, K., Helfand, S.L., Tatar, M., Sinclair, D.,

Sirtuin activators mimic caloric restriction and delay ageing in metazoans. Nature

,

–

F., Kurtev, M., Chung, N., Topark-Ngarm, A., Senawong, T., Machado De Oliveira, R., Leid, M., M

urney, M.W., Guarente, L.,

Sirt

promotes fat mobilization in white adipocytes by repressing PPAR-gamma. Nature

,

–

M., Phaneuf, S., Dirks, A., Leeuwenburgh, C.,

The role of apoptosis in the normal aging brain, skeletal muscle, and heart. Ann. NY Acad. Sci.

,

–

G., Dato, S., Altomare, K., Bellizzi, D., Garasto, S., Greco, V., Passarino, G., Feraco, E., Mari, V., Barbi, C., Bonafe, M., Franceschi, C., Tan, Q., Boiko, S., Yashin, A.I., De Benedictis, G.,

Variability of