Circulating microRNA profile of long‐lived Okinawans identifies novel potential targets for optimizing lifespan and health span

Nonagenarians and centenarians serve as successful examples of aging and extended longevity, showcasing robust regulation of biological mechanisms and homeostasis. Given that human longevity is a complex field of study that navigates molecular and biological mechanisms influencing aging, we hypothesized that microRNAs, a class of small noncoding RNAs implicated in regulating gene expression at the post‐transcriptional level, are differentially regulated in the circulatory system of young, middle‐aged, and nonagenarian individuals. We sequenced circulating microRNAs in Okinawan males and females 90 years of age accounting for FOXO3 genetic variations of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2802292 (TT ‐ common vs. GT ‐ longevity) and validated the findings through RT‐qPCR. We report five microRNAs exclusively upregulated in both male and female nonagenarians with the longevity genotype, play predictive functional roles in TGF‐β, FoxO, AMPK, Pi3K‐Akt, and MAPK signaling pathways. Our findings suggest that these microRNAs upregulated in nonagenarians may provide novel insight into enhanced lifespan and health span. This discovery warrants further exploration into their roles in human aging and longevity. Centenarians and nonagenarians demonstrate successful aging, a phenomenon described as aging devoid of advanced disease, impaired cognitive function and reduced physical ability. Given the potential for miRNAs to be used as biomarkers of aging or anti‐aging therapies, we identified five differentially expressed circulating miRNAs in Okinawan nonagenarians involved in key age‐related pathways.