Longitudinal changes and variation in human DNA methylation analysed with the Illumina MethylationEPIC BeadChip assay and their implications on forensic age prediction.

ABSTRACT: DNA methylation, a pivotal epigenetic modification, plays a crucial role in regulating gene expression and is known to undergo dynamic changes with age. The present study investigated epigenome-wide methylation profiles in 64 individuals over two time points, 15 years apart, using the Illumina EPIC850k arrays. A mixed-effects model identified 2821 age-associated differentially methylated CpG positions (aDMPs) with a median rate of change of 0.18% per year, consistent with a 10-15% change during a human lifespan. Significant variation in the baseline DNA methylation levels between individuals of similar ages as well as inconsistent direction of change with time across individuals were observed for all the aDMPs. Twenty-three of the 2821 aDMPs were previously incorporated into forensic age p

SUBMITTER: Refn MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10709620 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature