Study of 117-Year-Old Maria Branyas Finds Aging and Longevity Traits Together

A research team led by Dr. Manel Esteller, head of the Cancer Epigenetics group at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, has published the final peer-reviewed results of a study of Maria Branyas, the Catalan woman who lived beyond 117 years, a supercentenarian. Coordinated by Esteller and led by Eloy Santos, the team combined genomic, proteomic, epigenomic, metabolomic and microbiomic analysis — the most comprehensive biological investigation yet of a supercentenarian. The findings appeared in Cell Reports Medicine.

Rather than aging more slowly overall, Branyas showed what Esteller called a "fascinating duality": signs of extreme aging alongside signs of healthy longevity. She had very short telomeres, a pro-inflammatory immune system, and an aged population of B lymphocytes. At the same time, she carried genetic traits associated with neuroprotection and cardioprotection, had low inflammation, a gut microbiome dominated by beneficial bifidobacteria, and an epigenetic biological age younger than her actual age.

Because aging in the blood-forming system is associated with a higher risk of serious blood cancers such as leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes, the researchers say these findings could also help explain how such conditions develop and why some older people are more vulnerable than others.

Branyas's lack of serious disease let researchers study aging with less interference from illness — the first study, they say, to clearly separate aging from disease in someone this age. They cautioned it is too early to link specific traits to particular behaviors, but noted factors worth considering: a healthy diet, a stimulating and diverse social network, and the absence of toxic habits.

The study received public funding from the Generalitat de Catalunya, the European Community and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, plus private support from the "la Caixa" Foundation, the Cellex Foundation, the Spanish Association Against Cancer, and the John and Lucille Van Geest Foundation. The Josep Carreras Institute holds Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence accreditation from the same ministry.