Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Department of Biology and Biotechnology "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Mech Ageing Dev. 2022 Sep;206:111695. doi: 10.1016/j.mad.2022.111695. Epub 2022 Jun 24.
DNA methylation (DNAm) overwrites information about multiple extrinsic factors on the genome. Age is one of these factors. Age causes characteristic DNAm changes that are thought to be not only major drivers of normal ageing but also precursors to diseases, cancer being one of these. Although there is still much to learn about the relationship between ageing, age-related diseases and DNAm, we now know how to interpret some of the effects caused by age in the form of changes in methylation marks at specific loci. In fact, these changes form the basis of the so called "epigenetic clocks", which translate the genomic methylation profile into an "epigenetic age". Epigenetic age does not only estimate chronological age but can also predict the risk of chronic diseases and mortality. Epigenetic age is believed to be one of the most accurate metrics of biological age. Initial evidence has recently been gathered pointing to the possibility that the rate of epigenetic ageing can be slowed down or even reversed. In this review, we discuss some of the most relevant advances in this field. Expected outcome is that this approach can provide insights into how to preserve health and reduce the impact of ageing diseases in humans.
DNA 甲基化 (DNAm) 覆盖了基因组中关于多种外在因素的信息。年龄就是这些因素之一。年龄会导致特征性的 DNAm 变化，这些变化不仅被认为是正常衰老的主要驱动因素，也是疾病的前兆，癌症就是其中之一。尽管我们仍然需要了解衰老、与年龄相关的疾病和 DNAm 之间的关系，但我们现在已经知道如何解释年龄引起的一些影响，这些影响表现为特定基因座上甲基化标记的变化。事实上，这些变化构成了所谓的“表观遗传时钟”的基础，它将基因组的甲基化图谱转化为“表观遗传年龄”。表观遗传年龄不仅可以估计实际年龄，还可以预测患慢性疾病和死亡的风险。人们认为，表观遗传年龄是衡量生物年龄最准确的指标之一。最近有初步证据表明，表观遗传衰老的速度可以减缓甚至逆转。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了该领域的一些最相关的进展。预期的结果是，这种方法可以深入了解如何保持健康并减少人类衰老疾病的影响。
