Genes behind ageing ‘may be potential targets for anti-aging therapies’

Washington -  In a new study, scientists have identified a group of “ageing” genes that are switched on and off by natural mechanisms called epigenetic factors, influencing the  rate of healthy ageing and potential longevity.

The study, conducted by researchers at King’s College London in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, also suggests these epigenetic processes – that can be caused by  external factors such as diet, lifestyle and environment – are likely to be initiated from an early age and continue through a person’s life.

According to the researchers, the epigenetic changes they have identified could be used as potential “markers” of biological ageing and in the future could be possible targets for  anti-ageing therapies.

The study looked at 172 twins aged 32 to 80 from the TwinsUK cohort based at King’s College London and St Thomas’ Hospital, as part of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences  Centre.

The researchers looked for epigenetic changes in the twins’ DNA, and performed epigenome-wide association scans to analyse these changes in relation to chronological age.

They identified 490 age related epigenetic changes. They also analysed DNA modifications in age related traits and found that epigenetic changes in four genes relate to cholesterol, lung function and maternal longevity.

To try to identify when these epigenetic changes may be triggered, the researchers replicated the study in 44 younger twins, aged 22 to 61, and found that many of the 490 age related epigenetic changes were also present in this younger group.

The researchers said these results suggest that while many age related epigenetic changes happen naturally with age throughout a person’s life, a proportion of these changes may be initiated early in life.

“We found that epigenetic changes associate with age related traits that have previously been used to define biological age,” Jordana Bell, who co-led the study, said.

“We identified many age-related epigenetic changes, but four seemed to impact the rate of healthy ageing and potential longevity and we can use these findings as potential markers of ageing.

“These results can help understand the biological mechanisms underlying healthy ageing and age-related disease, and future work will explore how environmental effects can affect these epigenetic changes,” Bell said.

The study has been recently published in PLoS Genetics.