Amish People Have Mutant Genes

Amish People Have Mutant Genes

The age-defensive mutations found in Amish genes seem to increase their age. A new study reveals, individuals carrying a copy of the non functional KHP gene SERPINE1, live on average 10 years longer than their other community members.

The research was conducted on the Amish Old Order of Indiana, which generally avoids modern society, including electricity, cars and drugs.

"They do not take advantage of modern medicine in general, so the fact that having an average age of almost 85 is somewhat overwhelming," said Dr Douglas Vaughan, a cardiovascular specialist at Northwestern University who co-authored the study, published in scientific progress.

Of the 177 people tested, 43 had mutations. Aging is one of the most challenging biological processes to understand. Finding a mutation that has such a dramatic effect is unusual.

"There are major challenges in identifying lifelong genetic predictors," says Dr. Vaughan.

Aging comes with many symptoms. What is important about this mutation is that much of the discussion, with effects ranging from protection against diabetes to maintenance of cardiovascular elasticity.

"We're talking about something that seems to have an effect on the molecular level, at a hormonal level, at the tissue level, and playing with people who have a longer life," says Dr. Vaughan.

These mutations produce longer telomeres, covering at the ends of DNA strands that protect the chromosomes. Telomere shortening has been implicated in the aging process, which may explain the effect of life-enhancing mutations.

Two copies of this non-functional gene, however, have the opposite effect. Instead of protecting individuals from disease, it is associated with excessive bleeding after an injury.

As people with two copies, called heterozygous individuals, are very healthy, it is unlikely that their mutations can be observed, not for homozygous individuals with two copies, which comes with a clear illness.

In the general population, Dr Vaughan said, similar mutations may occur at a rate of about one in 70,000 people.

The fact that Amish people tend to be more interconnected than the wider population because their insular community could explain the relative prevalence of SERPINE1 mutations.

In terms of learning about the genetics that underlie complex processes such as aging, Dr. Vaughan suggests that this provides an excellent example for the future.

"Looking at this unique population may be more informative than the extensive genetic studies of the normal population," he said.

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