Help us: Donate
Follow us on:
×

Menu

Back

Epigenetic Alterations and Reprogramming Potential in Aging

The role of epigenetics, which determine how your genes are expressed, is being increasingly implicated in aging, as is the potential of therapies that revert epigenetics back to those of a younger person.

What are epigenetic alterations?

The DNA in each of our cells is identical, with only some small variations, so why do our various organs and tissues look so different, and how do cells know what to become?

Our DNA is altered by the addition of epigenetic information that changes the gene expression of a cell, silencing or expressing certain genes in a cell as the situation demands. Essentially, epigenetics turn genes on and off in a cell, much like a light switch; however, in this case, there are hundreds of switches that each control their own genes.

This is why cells in different parts of our bodies know what they need to develop into and what to do. They are why a liver cell knows how to function, how an immune cell knows how to do its job, and how our heart cells know how to beat and keep us alive.

At a basic level, epigenetics act like instructions that tell each cell what to do, how to look, and how to behave, and there is increasing evidence that these instructions can also tell our cells to age.

A review of epigenetics in aging

Today, we want to highlight a new publication by Dr. David Sinclair and Dr. Alice Kane, both from Harvard Medical School, which reviews the role of epigenetic alterations in aging and the potential for resetting those changes via partial cellular reprogramming [1].

Abstract

The aging process results in significant epigenetic changes at all levels of chromatin and DNA organization. These include reduced global heterochromatin, nucleosome remodeling and loss, changes in histone marks, global DNA hypomethylation with CpG island hypermethylation, and the relocalization of chromatin modifying factors. Exactly how and why these changes occur is not fully understood, but evidence that these epigenetic changes affect longevity and may cause aging, is growing. Excitingly, new studies show that age-related epigenetic changes can be reversed with interventions such as cyclic expression of the Yamanaka reprogramming factors. This review presents a summary of epigenetic changes that occur in aging, highlights studies indicating that epigenetic changes may contribute to the aging process and outlines the current state of research into interventions to reprogram age-related epigenetic changes.

This publication contains a very comprehensive review of the literature and support for the role of epigenetics in aging. The presence of epigenetic alterations being a driver of aging does not invalidate the theory of wear and tear; just because aging can cause a cell to be reprogrammed does not imply that aging is the result of a program. The Hallmarks of Aging, published in 2013, proposes that epigenetic alterations are one of the primary reasons we age, and the evidence for this keeps growing with each passing year [2].

If epigenetic changes do contribute to the aging process, then there is the exciting possibility that we can prevent or even reverse those changes and intervene in a very upstream cause. Evidence of the prevention of epigenetic changes with aging can be seen with calorie restriction, sirtuin activation and small molecules. Amazingly, reprogramming appears to reverse age-related epigenetic changes and the effects of aging, both in vitro and in vivo. Clearly, in vivo reprogramming to address aging and age-related diseases is an early field but it is growing rapidly and holds considerable promise.

Conclusion

It is becoming increasingly clear that epigenetic alterations play a key role in aging and that they are amenable to interventions such as reprogramming via OSKM induction and other, similar approaches. Cells appear to function in an aged or young capacity depending on these epigenetic instructions; indeed, this is the basis of induced pluripotent stem cells, which are cells that can be taken even from aged individuals before being reprogrammed back into a younger functional state.

This is not to suggest that epigenetic alterations are a magic bullet for aging and that simply reverting them will completely solve it; it is very likely that they will not. However, this review and the evidence therein strongly support that epigenetic alterations are a major player in aging and that resetting epigenetics has a great deal of potential.

We would like to ask you a small favor. We are a non-profit foundation, and unlike some other organizations, we have no shareholders and no products to sell you. We are committed to responsible journalism, free from commercial or political influence, that allows you to make informed decisions about your future health.

All our news and educational content is free for everyone to read, but it does mean that we rely on the help of people like you. Every contribution, no matter if it’s big or small, supports independent journalism and sustains our future. You can support us by making a donation or in other ways at no cost to you.

Dietary Magnesium in Dementia Prevention

Researchers publishing in the European Journal of Nutrition looked into magnesium as a possible candidate for preventing dementia, focusing on...

Glycine and Cysteine Combo Rescues Cognitive Decline in Mice

Scientists publishing in Antioxidants have reported that increasing glutathione levels with GlyNAC, a supplement that combines glycine and cysteine, significantly...

Vitalik Buterin Exclusive Interview: Longevity, AI and More

Vitalik Buterin holding Zuzu, the puppy rescued by people of Zuzalu. Photo: Michelle Lai Don’t try finding Zuzalu on a...

Centenarians Have Slightly Different Gut Ecologies

Researchers publishing in Nature Microbiology have determined that the viruses populating the intestines of centenarians are slightly different from those...

Literature

[1] Kane, A. E., & Sinclair, D. A. (2019). Epigenetic changes during aging and their reprogramming potential. Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 1-23.

[2] López-Otín, C., Blasco, M. A., Partridge, L., Serrano, M., & Kroemer, G. (2013). The hallmarks of aging. Cell, 153(6), 1194-1217.

About the author

Steve Hill

Steve serves on the LEAF Board of Directors and is the Editor in Chief, coordinating the daily news articles and social media content of the organization. He is an active journalist in the aging research and biotechnology field and has to date written over 600 articles on the topic, interviewed over 100 of the leading researchers in the field, hosted livestream events focused on aging, as well as attending various medical industry conferences. His work has been featured in H+ magazine, Psychology Today, Singularity Weblog, Standpoint Magazine, Swiss Monthly, Keep me Prime, and New Economy Magazine. Steve is one of three recipients of the 2020 H+ Innovator Award and shares this honour with Mirko Ranieri – Google AR and Dinorah Delfin – Immortalists Magazine. The H+ Innovator Award looks into our community and acknowledges ideas and projects that encourage social change, achieve scientific accomplishments, technological advances, philosophical and intellectual visions, author unique narratives, build fascinating artistic ventures, and develop products that bridge gaps and help us to achieve transhumanist goals. Steve has a background in project management and administration which has helped him to build a united team for effective fundraising and content creation, while his additional knowledge of biology and statistical data analysis allows him to carefully assess and coordinate the scientific groups involved in the project.
  1. Kelly Martin
    March 5, 2019

    An excellent article as usual. Epigenetics are on the minds of all in the scientific community these days. Keep the articles coming. Very informative.

Write a comment:

*

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.