ArticleAging2016
Epigenetic age predictions based on buccal swabs are more precise in combination with cell type-specific DNA methylation signatures.
Article in Aging, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 122 citations in OpenAlex.
- A cell-type deconvolution meta-analysis of whole blood EWAS reveals lineage-specific smoking-associated DNA methylation changes.Nature communications · 2020Pooled it
- Minimally processed, human-grade diet alters canine epigenetic ageing: Results from a pilot study.Veterinary record open · 2026Article
- Digital PCR in forensic genetics: principles, applications, and challenges.International journal of legal medicine · 2026Review
- Development of a Model for Predicting Chronological Age Based on DNA Methylation Data from Buccal Swabs Using Ion Torrent S5 Technology.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Common DNA sequence variation influences epigenetic aging in African populations.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Quantification of Epigenetic Aging in Public Health.Annual review of public health · 2025Review
- Development and validation of a novel cell type estimation method for targeted bisulfite sequencing data.Epigenomics · 2025Article
- The Association Between Periodontal Inflamed Surface Area (PISA), Inflammatory Biomarkers, and Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Epigenetic aging of semen is associated with inflammation.Epigenetics · 2024Article
- Methodology for Biological Sample Collection, Processing, and Storage in the Newcastle 1000 Pregnancy Cohort: Protocol for a Longitudinal, Prospective Population-Based Study in Australia.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
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- Epigenetic analyses in forensic medicine: future and challenges.International journal of legal medicine · 2024Review
- Uncovering Forensic Evidence: A Path to Age Estimation through DNA Methylation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Loss of the Y Chromosome: A Review of Molecular Mechanisms, Age Inference, and Implications for Men's Health.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Collaborative exercise: analysis of age estimation using a QIAGEN protocol and the PyroMark Q48 platform.Forensic sciences research · 2024Article
- Childhood environment influences epigenetic age and methylation concordance of a CpG clock locus in British-Bangladeshi migrants.Epigenetics · 2023Article
- Getting the chronological age out of DNA: using insights of age-dependent DNA methylation for forensic DNA applications.Genes & genomics · 2023Review
- Prediction of chronological age and its applications in forensic casework: methods, current practices, and future perspectives.Forensic sciences research · 2023Review
- DNA methylation-based age estimation for adults and minors: considering sex-specific differences and non-linear correlations.International journal of legal medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Aging is reflected by highly reproducible DNA methylation (DNAm) changes that open new perspectives for estimation of chronological age in legal medicine. DNA can be harvested non-invasively from cells at the inside of a person's cheek using buccal swabs - but these specimens resemble heterogeneous mixtures of buccal epithelial cells and leukocytes with different epigenetic makeup. In this study, we have trained an age predictor based on three age-associated CpG sites (associated with the genesPDE4C, ASPA, and ITGA2B) for swab samples to reach a mean absolute deviation (MAD) between predicted and chronological age of 4.3 years in a training set and of 7.03 years in a validation set. Subsequently, the composition of buccal epithelial cells versus leukocytes was estimated by two additional CpGs (associated with the genes CD6 and SERPINB5). Results of this "Buccal-Cell-Signature" correlated with cell counts in cytological stains (R2 = 0.94). Combination of cell type-specific and age-associated CpGs into one multivariate model enabled age predictions with MADs of 5.09 years and 5.12 years in two independent validation sets. Our results demonstrate that the cellular composition in buccal swab samples can be determined by DNAm at two cell type-specific CpGs to improve epigenetic age predictions.
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Registered trials
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