biostudies-literatureVaidya HNCI NIH HHSNIH27https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9933260biostudies-literatureUnknown24(1)<h4>Background</h4>Epigenetic marks are encoded by DNA methylation and accumulate errors as organisms age. This drift correlates with lifespan, but the biology of how this occurs is still unexplained. We analyze DNA methylation with age in mouse intestinal stem cells and compare them to nonstem cells.<h4>Results</h4>Age-related changes in DNA methylation are identical in stem and nonstem cells, affect most prominently CpG islands and correlate weakly with gene expression. Age-related DNA methylation entropy, measured by the Jensen-Shannon Distribution, affects up to 25% of the detectable CpG sites and is a better measure of aging than individual CpG methylation. We analyze this entropy as a function of age in seven other tissues (heart, kidney, skeletal muscle, lung, liver, spleen, and bloGenome biologyDNA methylation entropy as a measure of stem cell replication and aging.PMC9933260P50 CA254897CA254897CA100632CA214005Vaidya HKeith KMaegawa SCalendo GJelinek JJeong HSIssa JJMadzo JfalseDNA methylation entropy as a measure of stem cell replication and aging.<h4>Background</h4>Epigenetic marks are encoded by DNA methylation and accumulate errors as organisms age. This drift correlates with lifespan, but the biology of how this occurs is still unexplained. We analyze DNA methylation with age in mouse intestinal stem cells and compare them to nonstem cells.<h4>Results</h4>Age-related changes in DNA methylation are identical in stem and nonstem cells, affect most prominently CpG islands and correlate weakly with gene expression. Age-related DNA methylation entropy, measured by the Jensen-Shannon Distribution, affects up to 25% of the detectable CpG sites and is a better measure of aging than individual CpG methylation. We analyze this entropy as a function of age in seven other tissues (heart, kidney, skeletal muscle, lung, liver, spleen, and blo2023-01-01T00:00:00Z2023 Feb2026-04-12T20:07:48.461Z2025-05-29T20:01:09.078ZS-EPMC99332603679775910.1186/s13059-023-02866-4