Ageing affects subtelomeric DNA methylation in blood cells from a large European population enrolled in the MARK-AGE study

Ageing leaves characteristic traces in the DNA methylation make-up of the genome. However, the importance of DNA methylation in ageing remains unclear. The study of subtelomeric regions could give promising insights into this issue. Previously reported associations between susceptibility to age-related diseases and epigenetic instability at subtelomeres suggest that the DNA methylation profile of subtelomeres undergoes remodelling during ageing. In the present work, this hypothesis has been tested in the context of the European large-scale project MARK-AGE. In this cross-sectional study, we profiled the DNA methylation of chromosomes 5 and 21 subtelomeres, in more than 2000 age-stratified women and men recruited in eight European countries. Results indicate that the effects of age on subtelomeric DNA methylation are mostly independent of all other variables evaluated.

Bacalini MG, Reale A, Malavolta M, Ciccarone F, Moreno-Villanueva M, Dollé MET, Jansen E, Grune T, Gonos ES, Schön C, Bernhardt J, Grubeck-Loebenstein B, Sikora E, Toussaint O, Debacq-Chainiaux F, Capri M, Hervonen A, Hurme M, Slagboom PE, Breusing N, Aversano V, Tagliatesta S, Franceschi C, Blasco MA, Bürkle A, Caiafa P, Zampieri M

Geroscience. 2021 Jun;43(3):1283-1302. doi: 10.1007/s11357-021-00347-9. Epub 2021 Apr 19. PMID: 33870444; PMCID: PMC8190237