Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and the epigenetics company TruDiagnostic have uncovered DNA markers associated with retroelements, remnants of ancient viral genetic material, in our genes that act as highly accurate epigenetic clocks predicting chronological age. The results support the idea that certain retroelements in the human genome may be involved in aging. Retroelements have been known to impact gene regulation, gene expression, genomic stability and the trajectory of various human diseases, but their potential as biomarkers for aging had been largely unexplored.
The study, published Aug. 2 in Aging Cell , concluded that these retroelement clocks embedded in the human genome capture unique signals of aging not previously recognized by other clocks that measure chronological age. Most aging clocks estimate a person's biological age based on patterns of epigenetic markers-;chemical tags called methyl groups that are attached to DNA and affect how genes are expressed.
The pattern of methylation on retroelements seems to change as people age causing some genes to be more active which may lead to genomic instability, inflammation and age-related diseases. Aging is a complex process influenced by genetic, environmental and epigenetic factors, with researchers pursuing reliable markers that can predict biological age-;a snapshot of a person's age at the biochemical level which impacts health and overall well-being. On the other hand, chronological age represents the nu.