Objective

A number of studies have revealed that changes in epigenetics such as histone post translational modifications and DNA methylation accompanies ageing. Consequently, lifespan appears to be determined by epigenetics in addition to genetics and therefore it may be possible to alter lifespan by altering epigenetic information. DNA methylation is one of the most extensively studied epigenetic modifications during ageing such that in young cells, the majority of CpGs within the genome have cytosine methylation and when this occurs in promoters, it leads to transcriptional repression through the formation of compact chromatin structures. These modifications are controlled by the DNA methyltransferase family of enzymes and their modulation may open an avenue in reversing the epigenetic changes associated with ageing. The above has given rise to the concept of an internal clock that is related to the epigenetic methylation and specific sites in the genome have been identified that can be used to predict the biological age of individuals. This is currently under further investigation using epigenetic methylation data from individuals of different ages and our strategy underlying this work will be presented.

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