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Vladimir K, Perišić MM, Štorga M, Mostashari A, Khanin R. Epigenetics insights from perceived facial aging. Clin Epigenetics 2023; 15:176. [PMID: 37924108 PMCID: PMC10623707 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-023-01590-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Facial aging is the most visible manifestation of aging. People desire to look younger than others of the same chronological age. Hence, perceived age is often used as a visible marker of aging, while biological age, often estimated by methylation markers, is used as an objective measure of age. Multiple epigenetics-based clocks have been developed for accurate estimation of general biological age and the age of specific organs, including the skin. However, it is not clear whether the epigenetic biomarkers (CpGs) used in these clocks are drivers of aging processes or consequences of aging. In this proof-of-concept study, we integrate data from GWAS on perceived facial aging and EWAS on CpGs measured in blood. By running EW Mendelian randomization, we identify hundreds of putative CpGs that are potentially causal to perceived facial aging with similar numbers of damaging markers that causally drive or accelerate facial aging and protective methylation markers that causally slow down or protect from aging. We further demonstrate that while candidate causal CpGs have little overlap with known epigenetics-based clocks, they affect genes or proteins with known functions in skin aging, such as skin pigmentation, elastin, and collagen levels. Overall, our results suggest that blood methylation markers reflect facial aging processes, and thus can be used to quantify skin aging and develop anti-aging solutions that target the root causes of aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klemo Vladimir
- LifeNome Inc., New York, 10018, NY, USA
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Marija Majda Perišić
- LifeNome Inc., New York, 10018, NY, USA
- Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mario Štorga
- LifeNome Inc., New York, 10018, NY, USA
- Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | | | - Raya Khanin
- LifeNome Inc., New York, 10018, NY, USA.
- Bioinformatics Core, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, NY, USA.
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Ma J, Liu M, Wang Y, Xin C, Zhang H, Chen S, Zheng X, Zhang X, Xiao F, Yang S. Quantitative proteomics analysis of young and elderly skin with DIA mass spectrometry reveals new skin aging-related proteins. Aging (Albany NY) 2020; 12:13529-13554. [PMID: 32602849 PMCID: PMC7377841 DOI: 10.18632/aging.103461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Skin aging is a specific manifestation of the physiological aging process that occurs in virtually all organisms. In this study, we used data independent acquisition mass spectrometry to perform a comparative analysis of protein expression in volar forearm skin samples from of 20 healthy young and elderly Chinese individuals. Our quantitative proteomic analysis identified a total of 95 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in aged skin compared to young skin. Enrichment analyses of these DEPs (57 upregulated and 38 downregulated proteins) based on the GO, KEGG, and KOG databases revealed functional clusters associated with immunity and inflammation, oxidative stress, biosynthesis and metabolism, proteases, cell proliferation, cell differentiation, and apoptosis. We also found that GAPDH, which was downregulated in aged skin samples, was the top hub gene in a protein-protein interaction network analysis. Some of the DEPs identified herein had been previously correlated with aging of the skin and other organs, while others may represent novel age-related entities. Our non-invasive proteomics analysis of human epidermal proteins may guide future research on skin aging to help develop treatments for age-related skin conditions and rejuvenation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Ma
- Department of Dermatology of First Affiliated Hospital, and Institute of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.,Key Laboratory of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Mengting Liu
- Department of Dermatology of First Affiliated Hospital, and Institute of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.,Key Laboratory of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Yaochi Wang
- Department of Dermatology of First Affiliated Hospital, and Institute of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.,Key Laboratory of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Cong Xin
- Department of Dermatology of First Affiliated Hospital, and Institute of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.,Key Laboratory of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Hui Zhang
- Department of Dermatology of First Affiliated Hospital, and Institute of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.,Key Laboratory of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Shirui Chen
- Department of Dermatology of First Affiliated Hospital, and Institute of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.,Key Laboratory of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Xiaodong Zheng
- Department of Dermatology of First Affiliated Hospital, and Institute of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.,Key Laboratory of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Xuejun Zhang
- Department of Dermatology of First Affiliated Hospital, and Institute of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.,Key Laboratory of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Fengli Xiao
- Department of Dermatology of First Affiliated Hospital, and Institute of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.,Key Laboratory of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui, China.,The Center for Scientific Research of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Sen Yang
- Department of Dermatology of First Affiliated Hospital, and Institute of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.,Key Laboratory of Dermatology, Anhui Medical University, Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui, China
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Ventura A, Pellegrini C, Cardelli L, Rocco T, Ciciarelli V, Peris K, Fargnoli MC. Telomeres and Telomerase in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20061333. [PMID: 30884806 PMCID: PMC6470499 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20061333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2019] [Revised: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 03/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of telomere biology and telomerase activation in skin cancers has been investigated in melanoma and basal cell carcinoma but limited evidence is available for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). We will review the current knowledge on the role of telomere and telomerase pathway in cSCC pathogenesis. At the somatic level, both long and short telomere lengths have been described in cSCC. This telomere dichotomy is probably related to two different mechanisms of tumour initiation which determines two tumour subtypes. Telomere shortening is observed during the invasive progression from in situ forms of cSCC, such as Bowen's disease (BD) and actinic keratosis (AK), to invasive cSCC. At the germline level, controversial results have been reported on the association between constitutive telomere length and risk of cSCC. Approximately 75⁻85% of cSCC tumours are characterized by a high level of telomerase activity. Telomerase activation has been also reported in AKs and BD and in sun-damaged skin, thus supporting the hypothesis that UV modulates telomerase activity in the skin. Activating TERT promoter mutations have been identified in 32⁻70% of cSCCs, with the majority showing the UV-signature. No significant correlation was observed between TERT promoter mutations and cSCC clinico-pathological features. However, TERT promoter mutations have been recently suggested to be independent predictors of an adverse outcome. The attention on telomere biology and telomerase activity in cSCC is increasing for the potential implications in the development of effective tools for prognostic assessment and of therapeutic strategies in patients with cutaneous cSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Ventura
- Department of Dermatology, Department of Applied Clinical Sciences and Biotechnologies, University of L'Aquila, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.
| | - Cristina Pellegrini
- Department of Dermatology, Department of Applied Clinical Sciences and Biotechnologies, University of L'Aquila, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.
| | - Ludovica Cardelli
- Department of Dermatology, Department of Applied Clinical Sciences and Biotechnologies, University of L'Aquila, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.
| | - Tea Rocco
- Department of Dermatology, Department of Applied Clinical Sciences and Biotechnologies, University of L'Aquila, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.
| | - Valeria Ciciarelli
- Department of Dermatology, Department of Applied Clinical Sciences and Biotechnologies, University of L'Aquila, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.
| | - Ketty Peris
- Institute of Dermatology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli-IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00186 Rome, Italy.
| | - Maria Concetta Fargnoli
- Department of Dermatology, Department of Applied Clinical Sciences and Biotechnologies, University of L'Aquila, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.
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