Genetic variation in the CYP2C monooxygenase enzyme subfamily shows no association with longevity in a German population

Cytochrome P450 enzymes, especially the CYP2C subfamily, are involved in the generation of reactive oxygen species and are regarded as susceptibility factors for age-related diseases. Furthermore, the CYP2C-encoding genes are known to be highly polymorphic, with a number of variants leading to changes in enzyme activity. These observations prompted us to investigate whether allelic variation in the CYP2C-encoding genes was associated with human longevity. In a comprehensive haplotype tagging approach, we genotyped 56 single nucleotide polymorphisms located in the CYP2C gene family (CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C18, and CYP2C19) in our extensive collection of 1,384 long-lived individuals (centenarians and nonagenarians) and 945 younger controls. None of the tested single nucleotide polymorphisms showed a significant association with the longevity phenotype at the allele, genotype, or haplotype level. These results suggest that there is no notable influence of sequence variation in the CYP2C genes on longevity in the examined German population.