Association of longevity with IL‐10 −1082 G/A and TNF‐α−308 G/A polymorphisms

Cytokines are crucial for the regulation of inflammation development in humans. Many studies have shown that variations in cytokine genes might play a role in determining human longevity. This study examined the changes in the gene pool relevant to the −308 G/A polymorphism in the promoter region of the proinflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α gene and the −1082 G/A polymorphism in the promoter region of anti‐inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)‐10 gene with aging and survival selection occurs in the Jordanian population. IL‐10 −1028 G/A and TNF‐α−308 G/A were genotyped in 119 randomly selected elderly subjects (41 women and 78 men) with a mean age of 90.2 years and young control subjects of 118 (46 women and 72 men) with a mean age of 31.9 years. No significant differences were found in the genotype and allele frequencies of TNF‐α gene variants between the two groups (P > 0.05) while the IL‐10 genotype and allele frequencies were significantly associated with longevity in men (P < 0.05) but not in women (P < 0.05). Thus, IL‐10 −1028 G/A polymorphism seems to play a role in the pathway to longevity in Jordanian men.