“Epigenetic clocks”: Theory and applications in human biology

Aug 27, 2020American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council

"Epigenetic clocks": How biological age is measured and used in human health

AI simplified

Longevity & Aging on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

Epigenetic clocks can estimate biological age with unprecedented accuracy.

Biological age (BA) differs significantly among individuals, independent of chronological age.
Epigenetic clocks utilize changes in the epigenome, particularly DNA methylation, to provide accurate age estimates.
Deviations between epigenetic age and chronological age are associated with various health outcomes and mortality risks.
Epigenetic clocks may reveal fundamental molecular processes linked to aging and health across the lifespan.
Emerging applications of epigenetic clocks are relevant to human biology, including areas like reproduction, life-history, stress, and environmental influences.

AI simplified

All humans age, but how we age-and how fast-differs considerably from person to person. This deviation between apparent age and chronological age is often referred to as "biological age" (BA) and until recently robust tools for studying BA have been scarce. "Epigenetic clocks" are starting to change this. Epigenetic clocks use predictable changes in the epigenome, usually DNA methylation, to estimate chronological age with unprecedented accuracy. More importantly, deviations between epigenetic age and chronological age predict a broad range of health outcomes and mortality risks better than chronological age alone. Thus, epigenetic clocks appear to capture fundamental molecular processes tied to BA and can serve as powerful tools for studying health, development, and aging across the lifespan. In this article, I review epigenetic clocks, especially as they relate to key theoretical and applied issues in human biology. I first provide an overview of how epigenetic clocks are constructed and what we know about them. I then discuss emerging applications of particular relevance to human biologists-those related to reproduction, life-history, stress, and the environment. I conclude with an overview of the methods necessary for implementing epigenetic clocks, including considerations of study design, sample collection, and technical considerations for processing and interpreting epigenetic clocks. The goal of this review is to highlight some of the ways that epigenetic clocks can inform questions in human biology, and vice versa, and to provide human biologists with the foundational knowledge necessary to successfully incorporate epigenetic clocks into their research.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View full text (PDF) ↗View full text (XML) ↗View full text ↗

“Epigenetic clocks”: Theory and applications in human biology

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the longevity & aging brief

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the longevity & aging brief