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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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.
Flashcards
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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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