Superman by inheritance
How DNA Makes You Healthier than Others
What do these words really mean?
Yes, there are "winning" genes. There are probably hundreds or even thousands of them, but so far scientists have been able to recognize only a few. Perhaps you have one of these "supergens"!
Immunity to HIV
When a person becomes infected with HIV infection, certain types of cells of the immune system called CD4 suffer first of all. The virus penetrates into these cells, and then destroys them – and the normal functioning of the human immune system is disrupted. After that, AIDS develops, and at this stage the patient may die from a common cold due to severe complications. There are lucky people whose genes protect them from HIV infection. These people have a mutant version of the CCR5 gene, which plays an important role in the work of immune cells. If the usual CCR5 variant allows the immunodeficiency virus to penetrate into the cell and infect it, then the "supergen" CCR5 as it were "closes" the gate for infection.
In the northern part of Europe, about 1% of people have such a genetic superpower as immunity to HIV (the Swedes were the most lucky). Such a successful mutation is also found among Russians. Another 10-15% of Europeans have one of the two copies of the CCR5 gene mutated – this is not enough for "immunity to HIV", but it reduces the risks of infection and slows down the development of AIDS.
Nevertheless, you should not count on a genetic lottery in such a serious issue as protection from HIV.
Protection from alcoholism
There are people who are practically unable to become alcoholics. The fact is that after even a small portion of alcohol, they become so ill that the thought of abuse will not come to mind.
They were lucky with the ALDH2 gene, which is responsible for the production of the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase (AlDH). This enzyme should normally break down acetic aldehyde, which is formed as a result of the breakdown of alcohol and causes alcohol poisoning (in other words, a hangover).
People with a mutant version of ALDH2 have little aldehyde dehydrogenase, so a hangover even after a small amount of drinking takes a long and painful time. And this happens over and over again when trying to "relax" with alcohol. This ultimately inexorably reduces the craving for alcohol.
Few white Europeans were lucky enough to receive genetic protection from alcoholism – almost everyone finds one or another version of the gene that allows them to produce enough AlDH. Asians were much more lucky – up to 50% of them are not predisposed to alcoholism due to the work of genes.
Stress resistance genes
Some people who are able to withstand intensive hours of work are set as an example to others who are less stress–resistant. Here, they say, learn from them how to stay calm in the most stressful situations!
It turns out that sometimes it is simply impossible to learn this. In particular, when a special ability to tolerate stress is genetically determined. Responsible for this superpower is the SLC6A4 gene, which is responsible for the transport of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Fluctuations in the level of serotonin, known as the "happiness hormone", determine a person's tendency to anxiety and depression.
It is the serotonin transporter gene that influences how you will tolerate stress. More precisely, a section of this gene called 5-HTTLPR. There are two versions of 5-HTTLPR – short and long, and each person has a couple of copies of this section. Which option is more "stress-resistant"?
The researchers recruited a group of girls with different versions of 5-HTTLPR for the experiment. They were given a task that was supposed to cause stress, and then followed the reaction of their body. So, in girls with two short variants of 5-HTTLPR, compared with other participants, the level of cortisol – the "stress hormone" – I jumped up a lot and stayed at a high level for a long time.
This means that at least one long version of 5-HTTLPR in the SLC6A4 gene provides protection against unnecessary alarms. What a pity that not everyone was lucky with it: the most stress-resistant (with two long copies) among Europeans are about 35%, relatively immune to stress (with one long and one short copy) – another 45%.
Coffee and cigarettes
This combination will do less harm to some people than to others. It's all about the work of the CYP1A2 gene – it affects the production of the substance of the same name, which "digests" caffeine in the body, as well as some drugs and carcinogens. The more CYP1A2, the more coffee you can drink without harm to the body.
The study showed that one of the versions of the CYP1A2 gene can significantly – almost twice – increase the rate of caffeine metabolism. Moreover, the effect is especially noticeable in heavy smokers who destroy at least a pack of cigarettes a day.
So, perhaps you are one of those lucky ones who can constantly be with a cigarette and a cup of coffee in hand and not experience side effects: irritability, headache, increased pulse, etc.
This does not mean that this behavior is useful for you. Quitting smoking in any case does not hurt, and it is better to limit the use of coffee to a couple of cups a day, even with a good metabolism.
Resistance to sweets
Everyone probably knows a person who is absolutely indifferent to cakes and chocolates. How does he do it?
And again, the lucky ones are helped by genes! They simply do not allow these anti–sweet tooth to taste desserts - that's why they do not seek to eat them. The lucky mutation concerns the TAS1R3 gene responsible for recognizing sweet taste. If one of the copies of this gene is "broken", a person will feel the taste of dessert by 25% worse, if both – by 50%.
Such genetic immunity to sweets is very useful. After all, sugar causes strong spikes in glucose and insulin levels in the blood – and this is the first step towards insulin resistance, obesity and diabetes.
But few are so lucky – only 30% of people are more or less indifferent to the sweet taste, and the Europeans among them are the least.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru