ArticleGenome biology2022
Functional genomics analysis identifies T and NK cell activation as a driver of epigenetic clock progression.
Article in Genome biology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- Genome- and epigenome-wide association studies identify susceptibility of CpG sites and regions for metabolic syndrome in a Korean population.Clinical epigenetics · 2024Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of immune-cell fractions at high resolution reveals novel associations with common phenotypes and health outcomes.Genome medicine · 2023Pooled it
- An ELOVL2-Based Epigenetic Clock for Forensic Age Prediction: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Epigenetic age deceleration reflects exercise-induced cardiorespiratory fitness improvements.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Blood cell composition reveals distinct biological interpretation of DNA methylation age and age acceleration.Genome medicine · 2026Article
- Peripheral blood DNA methylation partially reports on immune cell type composition in the frontal brain.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- The OmniAge compendium of aging omic biomarkers links mitotic clocks to clonal hematopoiesis and causality.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Exploring the association between epigenetic age and intensive care unit delirium: a pilot feasibility study.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026Article
- Interplay of the nasal microbiome and epigenome among adolescents.Clinical epigenetics · 2026Article
- Variations in Innate Immune Cell Subtypes Correlate with Epigenetic Clocks, Inflammaging and Health Outcomes.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Review
- Editing epigenetic age.Nature aging · 2025Article
- Epigenetic clocks and inflammaging: pitfalls caused by ignoring cell-type heterogeneity.GeroScience · 2025Article
- The causal relationship between blood cell traits and aging: a Mendelian randomization study.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Unified high-resolution immune cell fraction estimation in blood tissue from birth to old age.Genome medicine · 2025Article
- Epigenetic ageing clocks: statistical methods and emerging computational challenges.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2025Review
- Weighted 2D-kernel density estimations provide a new probabilistic measure for epigenetic age.Genome biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Biological aging of different blood cell types.GeroScience · 2025Article
- Impact of age-related changes in buccal epithelial cells on pediatric epigenetic biomarker research.Nature communications · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEpigenetic clocks use DNA methylation (DNAm) levels of specific sets of CpG dinucleotides to accurately predict individual chronological age. A popular application of these clocks is to explore whether the deviation of predicted age from chronological age is associated with disease phenotypes, where this deviation is interpreted as a potential biomarker of biological age. This wide application, however, contrasts with the limited insight in the processes that may drive the running of epigenetic clocks.
resultsWe perform a functional genomics analysis on four epigenetic clocks, including Hannum's blood predictor and Horvath's multi-tissue predictor, using blood DNA methylome and transcriptome data from 3132 individuals. The four clocks result in similar predictions of individual chronological age, and their constituting CpGs are correlated in DNAm level and are enriched for similar histone modifications and chromatin states. Interestingly, DNAm levels of CpGs from the clocks are commonly associated with gene expression in trans. The gene sets involved are highly overlapping and enriched for T cell processes. Further analysis of the transcriptome and methylome of sorted blood cell types identifies differences in DNAm between naive and activated T and NK cells as a probable contributor to the clocks. Indeed, within the same donor, the four epigenetic clocks predict naive cells to be up to 40 years younger than activated cells.
conclusionsThe ability of epigenetic clocks to predict chronological age involves their ability to detect changes in proportions of naive and activated immune blood cells, an established feature of immuno-senescence. This finding may contribute to the interpretation of associations between clock-derived measures and age-related health outcomes.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.