A naukri.com initiative
Bioengineer
13h
260
Image Credit: Bioengineer
Tracing Blood Aging Through Somatic Epimutations
- Groundbreaking research introduces the EPI-Clone method to trace blood cell clones and understand blood aging dynamics at the cellular level.
- EPI-Clone utilizes a targeted methylation panel focusing on 448 CpG sites to capture heritable somatic epigenetic changes in DNA methylation patterns.
- The method was applied to human bone marrow samples from donors of various ages, revealing insights into genetic mutations and epigenetic states.
- Using a statistical framework called CHOIR, the study identified expanded clones by combining epigenetic signatures and surface marker expression.
- Epigenetic marks proved reliable for identifying genetic clonal identity, aligning well with known clonal hematopoiesis clones.
- The EPI-Clone method detected canonical clonal hematopoiesis mutations and revealed additional clonal expansions in the cohort.
- Analysis extended to different immune cell types, showing distinct clonal segregation and ontogenetic trajectories within hematopoiesis.
- EPI-Clone's sensitivity identified small CH clones and revealed diversification within large clones, offering insights into clonal evolution.
- The study underscores EPI-Clone's ability to map hematopoietic clonal expansions, providing detailed insights into blood aging and clonal dynamics.
- Integration of epigenetic and phenotypic data with mutation analyses opens avenues for understanding clonal hematopoiesis in age-related diseases.
Read Full Article
15 Likes
For uninterrupted reading, download the app