Tier 2 — strong

Age-related epigenetic drift deregulates SIRT6 expression and affects its downstream genes in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells

Magdalena Owczarz, Jacek Połosak, Anna Domaszewska-Szostek, Paulina Kołodziej, Alina Kuryłowicz, Monika Puzianowska-Kuźnicka
Epigenetics 2020 15(12):1336-1347

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 32573339
PubMed Central
PMC7678931
DOI
10.1080/15592294.2020.1780081
Funding
National Science Centre grant 2013/09/N/NZ3/01363.
Competing interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Study snapshot

DesignCross-sectional human PBMC molecular and epigenetic study across three age groups.
ModelHealthy human adults: young, middle-aged and long-lived.
Sample157 total: young n=55, middle-aged n=51, long-lived n=51.
InterventionNo intervention; age-group comparison.
DurationCross-sectional.
EndpointsSIRT6 mRNA; SIRT6 CpG methylation; age-related miRNA expression; TP53 and MYC expression correlations

What the study showed, in plain terms

This human study compared SIRT6-related molecular patterns in healthy young, middle-aged and long-lived adults. SIRT6 CpG methylation did not differ by age, but several regulatory microRNAs and downstream-gene relationships changed.

Key findings

Human aging was associated with changes in the regulatory network around SIRT6 rather than a simple monotonic change in SIRT6 CpG-island methylation.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Cross-sectional associations cannot establish that SIRT6 changes cause longevity or that activating SIRT6 would reproduce the molecular profile of long-lived individuals.

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Last verified

Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability