DNA Methylation: A Biomarker of the Epigenetic Clock in Aging
A special issue of Methods and Protocols (ISSN 2409-9279).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 August 2020) | Viewed by 3419
Special Issue Editor
2. Harvard Medical School Initiative for RNA Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
3. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Cancer Research Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Interests: DNA methylation; epigenetics; noncoding RNAs; RNA therapeutics
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
One of the most fascinating biological questions is: “why do we age?”
Chronological age is not a reliable measure to assess the aging process. If we want to understand and control aging, we need instead accurate markers to evaluate biological age.
Various studies in humans and murine models have shown that aging is associated with DNA methylation changes. DNA methylation is a key epigenetic signature implicated in regulation of gene expression and occurs predominantly within CpG dinucleotides. Methylation of CpG-rich promoters is carried out by DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs). Although CpG dinucleotides are underrepresented in the mammalian genome, they tend to cluster within CpG-rich regions—CpG islands (CGI), located in the proximity of the transcription start sites of most protein-coding genes. Further, while 70% to 80% of the CpGs in the entire genome are methylated, CGIs remain mostly unmethylated in somatic cells.
The identification of the “epigenetic clocks”, a set of CpG sites whose DNA methylation levels can be used to measure subject age, has unveiled novel molecular targets to monitor the aging process and to define the “epigenetic age”.
Despite outstanding progress, many challenging questions still remain unanswered: “Can we separate drivers versus passengers of age-associated changes in single-cell, tissue-specific physiological or pathological conditions? Do the DNA methylation-based epigenetic clocks correlate with other epigenetic marks? How do “epigenetic age and rate” change in disease state? Is DNA methylation an accurate biomarker of healthy versus unhealthy aging? To put it differently, is DNA methylation an inner biological clock?”
A multidisciplinary and comprehensive approach integrating various scientific disciplines such as biology, computational and evolutionary biology, bioinformatics, and molecular medicine will be required to delve into these questions and understand how the molecular gears of the epigenetic clocks function.
By answering these questions, the Special Issue aims at elucidating the role of DNA methylation as a “biomarker” of the epigenetic clock in aging. We welcome the submission of both original research and review articles introducing new molecular, bioinformatics, and computational biology strategies to identify DNA methylation-based indicators of the epigenetic clock, which will enable the discovery of potential targets for clinical intervention in aging.
Prof. Dr. Annalisa Di Ruscio, MD, PHD
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- aging
- DNA methylation
- biomarkers
- epigenetic clocks
- epigenetic changes
- epigenetic age
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