Age and sun exposure-related widespread genomic blocks of hypomethylation in nonmalignant skin.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Aging and sun exposure are the leading causes of skin cancer. It has been shown that epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation, are well established mechanisms for cancer, and also have emerging roles in aging and common disease. Here, we directly ask whether DNA methylation is altered following skin aging and/or chronic sun exposure in humans.

Results

We compare epidermis and dermis of both sun-protected and sun-exposed skin derived from younger subjects (under 35 years old) and older subjects (over 60 years old), using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 array and whole genome bisulfite sequencing. We observe large blocks of the genome that are hypomethylated in older, sun-exposed epidermal samples, with the degree of hypomethylation associated with clinical meas

SUBMITTER: Vandiver AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4423110 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature