Three CpGs track blood aging
Age-related blood DNA methylation at a few CpGs predicts chronological age with ~3.3-year MAD.
Source
Aging of blood can be tracked by DNA methylation changes at just three CpG sites
Study at a glance
- Design
- Computational / modelling — Combined blood DNAm datasets to select age-related CpGs and train a 3-site age predictor
- N
- N=575 · 575 DNAm profiles from four studies, ages 0–78
- Population
- Human blood DNA methylation profiles across childhood to older adulthood
- Outcome
- Epigenetic age prediction from blood CpG methylation
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Three CpGs track blood aging
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575 DNAm profiles combined.
We combined 575 DNAm profiles derived from blood cells from four different studies spanning an age range of 0 to 78 years (Table S1 in Additional file ) [,,,].
Age prediction uses only three CpG sites.
an epigenetic aging signature that requires measurement of DNAm levels at only three CpG sites by bisulfite sequencing to facilitate reliable age predictions.
What they did
Combined 575 blood DNAm profiles (ages 0–78), selected age-correlated CpGs, and trained predictors including a 3-site bisulfite assay.
What they found
102 AR-CpGs (58 hypo, 44 hyper); a three-CpG signature predicts age with MAD 3.34 years (R²=0.98).
The limits
What it doesn't show
Does not prove CpG changes cause aging diseases.
Key terms
- DNAm
- DNA methylation at CpG cytosines.
- AR-CpG
- Age-related CpG site.
- Epigenetic clock
- Methylation-based age predictor.
- MAD
- Mean absolute deviation of predicted vs true age.
- Bisulfite sequencing
- Assay converting unmethylated C→T.
- Hypermethylation
- Age-linked gain of methylation at some CpGs.
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Profiles n:
Common questions
How many profiles?
575.
AR-CpGs selected?
102.
Minimal signature?
Three CpG sites.
MAD?
3.34 years.
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