The determination of the haplotypes in which the allele Asp is more present in nonagenarians with respect to other alleles is in line with this assumption. That this fact is not a mere coincidence, the determination of some functional parameters linked to the inflammatory status and zinc ion availability is further support. It has been reported that nonagenariansHuman metallothionein genes: Structure of the functional locus at q. Genomics: Yurkow EJ, Makhijani PR. Flow cytometric determination of metallothionein levels in human peripheral blood lymphocytes: Utility in environmental exposure assessment. J Toxicol Environ Health A: Zangger K, Oz G, Haslinger E, Kunert O, Armitage IM. Nitric oxide selectively releases metals from the amino-terminal domain of metallothioneins: Potential role at inflammatory sites. FASEB J. Zincage Project (www.zincage.org). Mecocci P, Polidori MC, Troiano L, Cherubini Cecchetti R, Pini G, Straatman M, Monti D, Stahl Sies H, Franceschi C, Senin U. Plasma antioxidants and longevity: A study on healthy Free Radic Biol Med. Misra RR, Hochadel JF, Smith GT, Cook JC, MP, Wink DA. Evidence that nitric enhances cadmium toxicity by displacing it from metallothionein. Chem Res Toxicol. Mocchegiani E, Giacconi R, Cipriano C, Muzzioli Gasparini N, Moresi R, Stecconi R, Suzuki Cavalieri E. MtNA gene expression, IL-2 and glucocorticoids as potential genetic markers of immunosenescence: Lessons from very old mice and humans. Exp Gerontol. Mocchegiani E, Costarelli L, Giacconi R, Cipriano Muti E, Tesei S, Malavolta M. Interaction in ageing and successful ageing: A nutrient (zinc) and some target genes related to inflammatory/immune response. Mech Ageing. Mocchegiani E, Muzzioli M, Giacconi R. Zinc immunoresistance to infection in aging: New tools. Trends Pharmacol Sci. Mocchegiani E, Muzzioli M, Cipriano C, Giacconi R. Zinc, T-cell pathways, aging: Role of metallothioneins. Mech Ageing Dev. Mocchegiani E, Muzzioli M, Giacconi R, Cipriano Gasparini N, Franceschi C, Gaetti R, Cavalieri Suzuki H. Zinc/Thymic hormone interplay on natural killer cell activity in parallelism with nonagenarians and old infected humans: Effect of zinc supply. Mech Ageing. Moroni F, Di Paolo ML, Rigo A, Cipriano Giacconi R, Recchioni R, Marcheselli F, Mocchegiani E. Interrelationship among zinc/homeostasis/oxidative stress/ inflammation in aging.