This week’s #JournalClubFriday dives deep into the world of epigenetics and its transformative impact on understanding and treating kidney diseases, including chronic kidney disease (CKD).
I’m unpacking the study “Unraveling the epigenetic code: human kidney DNA methylation,” which sheds light on how DNA methylation influences renal disease progression.
Key findings reveal that nearly 30% of methylation alterations in kidney disease stem from genetic variations, highlighting the potential of Methylation Risk Scores (MRS) in predicting and diagnosing kidney disease more accurately by incorporating genetic and environmental factors🤯
This approach not only refines disease annotations but also enhances predictions of disease development, marking a significant step forward in personalized medicine.
Check out my video to explore how these epigenetic insights could lead to better risk stratification and treatment strategies, paving the way for more targeted and effective interventions.
#Everythingepigenetics #Epigenetics #Kidneyhealth #Innovativeresearch #Personalizedmedicine
In this week’s journal club Friday I’m going to talk about using epigenetics to predict other biomarkers, in this case proteins.
Why does this matter?
Well, we aren’t too far from one test to replace them all.
If we can predict other outcomes with just epigenetics, we can keep test cost low, sample collection at a minimum, and turn around time as quickly as possible‼️
In a recent study, researchers focused on developing epigenetic scores (EpiScores) for GDF15 and NT-proBNP, key biomarkers linked to cardiovascular and other diseases, using the Generation Scotland cohort of over 16,963 individuals.
Their approach utilizes DNA methylation levels to improve disease risk stratification, a step forward in personalized medicine⚕️
They identified 12 DNA methylation sites associated with GDF15 levels and 4 with NT-proBNP, creating EpiScores that accurately predict protein levels and their disease associations.
👉🏽Notably, the GDF15 EpiScores correlated with increased risks of dementia, type 2 diabetes, and ischemic stroke, while NT-proBNP EpiScores were predictive of type 2 diabetes risks.
Testing these scores both within the cohort and externally in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, they found they not only reflect protein levels but also relate to poorer brain health indicators, underscoring their potential in disease prediction and management.
This work suggests that integrating DNA methylation-based markers with traditional risk factors could enhance our understanding of disease mechanisms and progression, offering a more nuanced approach to health risk assessment.
It’s a step towards more tailored healthcare, leveraging molecular data for better outcomes.
🧬🧬🧬
#everythingepigenetics
Have you ever had your immune cell subsets tested? And if so, at what cost?💸
If you’ve tested before, you know this includes a REALLY high price tag, and it’s a logistical nightmare😖
What if I told you that you could do the same type of testing by looking at DNA methylation markers with just a couple drops of blood?🩸
👉🏽In the study ‘A meta-analysis of immune-cell fractions at high resolution reveals novel associations with common phenotypes and health outcomes’, researchers analyze over 23,000 blood samples, developing a 12 immune-cell-type DNA methylation (DNAm) reference matrix.
This tool accurately quantifies immune-cell fractions, offering insights into the cellular underpinnings of health, aging, and disease🦠
The findings underscore immune-cell variations as biomarkers for disease risk and progression, highlighting age-related shifts indicative of immunosenescence, such as decreased naïve CD8+ T-cells and increased memory T-cells.
Significant sex-specific differences in immune-cell fractions were observed, shedding light on gender disparities in disease risks.
Additionally, lifestyle factors like smoking🚬 and obesity were linked to specific immune-cell changes, emphasizing the influence of environmental factors on immune composition.
The study also associates certain immune-cell fractions with all-cause mortality, suggesting their role in predicting health outcomes.
This research advances our understanding of the immune system in health and disease, highlighting DNAm profiling’s potential in personalized medicine and biomarker development.
#Epigenetics #ImmunologyResearch #PersonalizedMedicine
Episode 24 - Epigenetic Gestational Age Prediction with Kristine Løkås Haftorn🤰🏽
Determining a newborn’s due date traditionally relies on maternal reports of the last menstrual period and ultrasound scans👶🏻
These conventional approaches can lead to uncertainties, especially when it comes to identifying deviations from normal fetal development that could impact research into the effects of preterm or post-term births on newborns❌
However, researchers, including Kristine Løkås Haftorn, have now developed a more precise method to ascertain newborns’ gestational age through analyzing DNA methylation patterns in blood samples, utilizing machine learning🧬
This is crucial because accurate knowledge of gestational age is fundamental for understanding the risks and implications of preterm and post-term births on infant health.
Moreover, the ability to accurately determine gestational age in utero could revolutionize prenatal care by providing deeper insights into fetal development, potentially allowing for earlier identification of developmental issues and more tailored interventions to support healthy pregnancies👩🏻🍼
This breakthrough, driven by machine learning’s ability to sift through and interpret complex epigenetic information, underscores the potential of combining technology with biology to enhance our understanding of human development.
In this week’s Everything Epigenetics podcast, I speak with Kristine about epigenetic gestational age prediction, how we can use gestational age clocks to look at developmental timing and how this can improve pregnancies, assisted reproductive technology (ART), and more.
Kristine is particularly interested in epigenetic patterns in newborns, how these patterns are linked to development in the fetus and child, and how they can be affected by various exposures during pregnancy‼️
#everythingepigenetics #epigenetics
—
The study of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana’s impact on DNA methylation is a pivotal area in epigenetics, as it addresses crucial public health concerns 🏥
These substances are widely consumed and have been linked to serious health conditions, including hypertension—a leading global health challenge.
By examining their effects on epigenetics, particularly DNA methylation, we can uncover the biological mechanisms behind these health impacts.
This is especially significant in understanding how lifestyle choices and environmental factors influence our genetic makeup and overall health 🧬
For instance, the finding that alcohol and tobacco significantly alter DNA methylation patterns, while marijuana does not (according to this specific paper), provides valuable insights into their distinct biological effects.
This knowledge is crucial in developing targeted interventions and preventive measures for diseases associated with these substances, such as hypertension and other cardiovascular and neurological disorders 🧠❤️
Moreover, this research enhances our understanding of epigenetics as a key player in health and disease, underscoring the importance of lifestyle choices in our overall well-being.
This study is a vital contribution to the field, highlighting the significant role of epigenetics in public health and the need for further research in this area 📚
#everythingepigenetics #epigenetics
Research unveils a sophisticated interplay between lifestyle choices and genetic blueprints in dictating the pace of our biological aging🕰️🔬
The study shows how practices like yoga, prioritizing quality sleep, and engaging in higher education are not just beneficial for the mind and body, but also pivotal in decelerating the epigenetic clock🧘♂️💤🎓
Additionally, dietary choices emerge as key players: reducing meat intake and incorporating coffee into our routines align with marked decreases in epigenetic aging markers☕️🥦
This study also shines a light on the genetic underpinnings of aging, particularly highlighting the significant role of the SOCS2 gene variant.
This discovery bridges our lifestyle choices with our genetic predispositions, offering a nuanced understanding of aging🧩🔍
This comprehensive study not only enhances our knowledge of the aging process but also offers practical implications.
It suggests that by making conscious lifestyle choices, we might influence our biological age, potentially extending our healthspan and warding off age-related diseases🚴♀️🍏💡
#everythingepigenetics #epigenetics
🧬Episode 23: Causal Epigenetic Age Uncouples Damage and Adaptation with Kejun (Albert) Ying
Machine learning models that use DNA markers can estimate the age of biological samples.
However, understanding why these markers change with age is challenging because it’s hard to prove that these changes cause aging-related traits.
In this week’s Everything Epigenetics podcast, I speak with Kejun Ying who uses large datasets to find specific DNA markers that directly influence aging traits‼️
We explore his recently published study which found casual CpGs that speed up aging and others that protect against it.
Kejun and colleagues created two new models, DamAge and AdaptAge, to measure harmful and beneficial changes related to aging.
DamAge, which indicates negative aging effects, is linked to several health risks, including higher chances of dying.
AdaptAge, on the other hand, shows positive aging adaptations.
👉🏽Interestingly, only the negative changes seen in DamAge can be reversed by a process that makes aged cells young again.
The research findings provide a detailed understanding of the DNA markers that truly affect lifespan and overall health as we age🧫🔬🧪
This helps us develop more accurate aging biomarkers and evaluate treatments aimed at reversing aging, improving longevity, and understanding events that speed up the aging process.
#everythingepigenetics #epigenetics
🌱🍖 Dive into the groundbreaking findings of the Twins Nutrition Study (TwiNS) in my latest Journal Club Friday!
This innovative study compared the effects of vegan versus omnivorous diets on aging. 🧬
By analyzing DNA methylation in blood samples from twin pairs over an 8-week diet period, researchers unveiled significant insights:
1️⃣ Vegan diets showed a notable decrease in epigenetic age acceleration, suggesting potential anti-aging benefits. 🌿⏳ 2️⃣ Omnivorous diets did not exhibit similar changes, highlighting a distinct epigenetic impact between the two diets. 🍖🔄
3️⃣ The study identified specific systems, including inflammation and metabolic processes, where vegan diets might influence aging. 🧪🔍
This research provides a deeper understanding of how our dietary choices can affect our biological aging process. Whether you’re a plant-based enthusiast or a meat lover, these insights are a food for thought on the journey to healthy aging. 🥦🥩
These groundbreaking findings underscore the potential of epigenetic clocks as real-time biomarkers, offering valuable insights into physiological changes, exemplified by weight loss in this study.
However, it is crucial to stress that a vegan diet lacks essential nutrients for optimal epigenetic processes. Without proper supplementation, there’s a risk of long-term damage.
👩🏽🔬As scientists, it is our duty to communicate this message clearly and emphatically, ensuring the public is well-informed about the nuances of dietary choices for their overall health.
#Epigenetics #NutritionScience #VeganVsOmnivore #AgingResearch #TwiNS
How did Dr. Randy Jirtle identify imprintome regulatory regions?
Remember, to be an imprintome control region, it has to be the same in every cell of the body.
It has to be consistent across all cell types in the body but DIFFERENT in the germline - one methylated and one unmethylated.
Unpack what this means in my latest podcast episode.
In this episode, you’ll also learn about:
🧬Jirtle’s seminal 2003 Agouti mouse study
🧬The concept of imprinting and epigenetics
🧬The evolutionary biology approach
🧬How environmental and nutritional exposures can determine phenotypes through epigenetic regulation
🧬The profound impact that Jirtle had on the scientific community with his research
🧬How to identify imprintome regulatory regions in the germline
🧬The discovery of the full imprintome control regions in July 2022
🧬How to measure the imprintome with the imprintome array
How the imprintome is starting to connect the dots to certain 🧬disease risks
🧬Future research on imprtinting and human evolution
🧬Challenges in researching the imprintome
🧬Pragmatic applications of the imprintome
🧬Excitement in current research
#everythingepigenetics #epigenetics
🚨🧬 New Research Alert!
A recent study by the National Institutes of Health reveals that women treated for breast cancer may experience accelerated biological aging compared to those who remain cancer-free.
🩺⏳ Notably, radiation therapy was linked to the most significant aging effect, while surgery showed no such association.
🤔 This suggests that the cancer itself may not be the culprit for increased aging.
⏰Biological age was measured in 417 women over an eight-year span using three epigenetic clocks. GrimAge, PhenoAge, and DunedinPACE consistently indicated faster aging in women with breast cancer, regardless of race.
Interestingly, aging rates varied with different treatments. While radiation therapy was strongly linked to biological aging, the researchers underscored the importance of not abandoning it.
☢️Radiation remains a potent breast cancer treatment, and minimizing exposure is crucial.
As always, if faced with a breast cancer diagnosis, discuss all treatment options with your doctor🤝
Knowledge empowers choices for the 4 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. 🇺🇸💖
#Everythingepigenetics #Epigenetics #BreastCancerResearch #AgingGracefully #EmpoweredChoices
‼️Episode 22 - The Importance of the Imprintome with Dr. Randy Jirtle
The idea💡of the impintome is still foreign to many people. So, let’s start with a simple explanation.
🧬For the majority of genes, we inherit two functional copies—one from our mother🤰 and one from our father👨
However, imprinted genes follow a different pattern, as we inherit only one functional copy.
Depending on the specific gene, either the copy from our mother or our father undergoes epigenetic silencing. This silencing process typically involves the addition of methyl groups during the formation of eggs🥚or sperm.
The epigenetic modifications on imprinted genes typically stay put throughout the organism’s lifespan but undergo a reset during the formation of eggs and sperm.
🤫Regardless of their origin, certain genes are consistently silenced in eggs, while others are consistently silenced in sperm.
Soon after egg and sperm meet, most of the epigenetic tags that activate and silence genes are stripped from the DNA. However, in mammals, imprinted genes keep their epigenetic tags. Imprinted genes begin the process of development with epigenetic tags in place.
Imprinted genes are not the only genes that bypass epigenetic reprogramming in the early embryo.
📚Studying imprinting may help researchers understand how other genes make it through reprogramming without losing their epigenetic tags.
–
The field of epigenetics and the imprintome has grown exponentially in the past decade, largely fueled by Randy Jirtle’s groundbreaking research.
Picture this: his 2003 study on how nutrition impacts gene regulation is the single most talked-about paper in the history of science. Jirtle’s discoveries have been a game-changer, unraveling secrets about human health and the roots of diseases🦠
👉🏽In this week’s Everything Epigenetics podcast, I dive into a captivating conversation with Dr. Jirtle. We explore the fascinating intricacies of his research,
Is there a causal effect in utero on epigenetic aging?🧬🕜
‼️Dr. Lauren Schmitz findings suggest that adverse maternal environments early in human gestation could result in persistent changes in epigenetic information in adulthood, particularly with respect to the regulation of metabolic, immune, or neurological pathways.
🎧Check out my recent podcast episode with her to learn more!
🔗Link in bio
#everytbingepigenetics #epigenetics
