1
|
Song AY, Bulka CM, Niemiec SS, Kechris K, Boyle KE, Marsit CJ, O’Shea TM, Fry RC, Lyall K, Fallin MD, Volk HE, Ladd-Acosta C. Accelerated epigenetic age at birth and child emotional and behavioura development in early childhood: a meta-analysis of four prospective cohort studies in ECHO. Epigenetics 2023; 18:2254971. [PMID: 37691382 PMCID: PMC10496525 DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2023.2254971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: 'Epigenetic clocks' have been developed to accurately predict chronologic gestational age and have been associated with child health outcomes in prior work.Methods: We meta-analysed results from four prospective U.S cohorts investigating the association between epigenetic age acceleration estimated using blood DNA methylation collected at birth and preschool age Childhood Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scores.Results: Epigenetic ageing was not significantly associated with CBCL total problem scores (β = 0.33, 95% CI: -0.95, 0.28) and DSM-oriented pervasive development problem scores (β = -0.23, 95% CI: -0.61, 0.15). No associations were observed for other DSM-oriented subscales.Conclusions: The meta-analysis results suggest that epigenetic gestational age acceleration is not associated with child emotional and behavioural functioning for preschool age group. These findings may relate to our study population, which includes two cohorts enriched for ASD and one preterm birth cohort.; future work should address the role of epigenetic age in child health in other study populations.Abbreviations: DNAm: DNA methylation; CBCL: Child Behavioral Checklist; ECHO: Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes; EARLI: Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation; MARBLES: Markers of Autism Risk in Babies - Learning Early Signs; ELGAN: Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborns; ASD: autism spectrum disorder; BMI: body mass index; DSM: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ashley Y. Song
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Sierra S. Niemiec
- Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Katerina Kechris
- Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Kristen E. Boyle
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Carmen J. Marsit
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - T. Michael O’Shea
- Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Rebecca C. Fry
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Kristen Lyall
- A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Heather E. Volk
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Christine Ladd-Acosta
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Song AY, Bakulski K, Feinberg JI, Newschaffer C, Croen LA, Hertz-Picciotto I, Schmidt RJ, Farzadegan H, Lyall K, Fallin MD, Volk HE, Ladd-Acosta C. Associations between accelerated parental biologic age, autism spectrum disorder, social traits, and developmental and cognitive outcomes in their children. Autism Res 2022; 15:2359-2370. [PMID: 36189953 PMCID: PMC9722613 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Parental age is a known risk factor for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, studies to identify the biologic changes underpinning this association are limited. In recent years, "epigenetic clock" algorithms have been developed to estimate biologic age and to evaluate how the epigenetic aging impacts health and disease. In this study, we examined the relationship between parental epigenetic aging and their child's prospective risk of ASD and autism related quantitative traits in the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation study. Estimates of epigenetic age were computed using three robust clock algorithms and DNA methylation measures from the Infinium HumanMethylation450k platform for maternal blood and paternal blood specimens collected during pregnancy. Epigenetic age acceleration was defined as the residual of regressing chronological age on epigenetic age while accounting for cell type proportions. Multinomial logistic regression and linear regression models were completed adjusting for potential confounders for both maternal epigenetic age acceleration (n = 163) and paternal epigenetic age acceleration (n = 80). We found accelerated epigenetic aging in mothers estimated by Hannum's clock was significantly associated with lower cognitive ability and function in offspring at 12 months, as measured by Mullen Scales of Early Learning scores (β = -1.66, 95% CI: -3.28, -0.04 for a one-unit increase). We also observed a marginal association between accelerated maternal epigenetic aging by Horvath's clock and increased odds of ASD in offspring at 36 months of age (aOR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.99, 1.26). By contrast, fathers accelerated aging was marginally associated with decreased ASD risk in their offspring (aOR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.68, 1.01). Our findings suggest epigenetic aging could play a role in parental age risks on child brain development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ashley Y. Song
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental
Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Kelly Bakulski
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, MI
| | - Jason I. Feinberg
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental
Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Craig Newschaffer
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- College of Health and Human Development, Pennsylvania State
University, State College, PA
| | - Lisa A. Croen
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA
| | - Irva Hertz-Picciotto
- Department of Public Health Sciences and The MIND
Institute, School of Medicine, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA
| | - Rebecca J. Schmidt
- Department of Public Health Sciences and The MIND
Institute, School of Medicine, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA
| | - Homayoon Farzadegan
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Kristen Lyall
- A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University,
Philadelphia, PA
| | - M. Daniele Fallin
- Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta,
Georgia, USA
| | - Heather E. Volk
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental
Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Christine Ladd-Acosta
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental
Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Song AY, Feinberg JI, Bakulski KM, Croen LA, Fallin MD, Newschaffer CJ, Hertz-Picciotto I, Schmidt RJ, Ladd-Acosta C, Volk HE. Prenatal Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Epigenetic Aging at Birth in Newborns. Front Genet 2022; 13:929416. [PMID: 35836579 PMCID: PMC9274082 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.929416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
In utero air pollution exposure has been associated with adverse birth outcomes, yet effects of air pollutants on regulatory mechanisms in fetal growth and critical windows of vulnerability during pregnancy are not well understood. There is evidence that epigenetic alterations may contribute to these effects. DNA methylation (DNAm) based age estimators have been developed and studied extensively with health outcomes in recent years. Growing literature suggests environmental factors, such as air pollution and smoking, can influence epigenetic aging. However, little is known about the effect of prenatal air pollution exposure on epigenetic aging. In this study, we leveraged existing data on prenatal air pollution exposure and cord blood DNAm from 332 mother-child pairs in the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (EARLI) and Markers of Autism Risk in Babies-Learning Early Signs (MARBLES), two pregnancy cohorts enrolling women who had a previous child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, to assess the relationship of prenatal exposure to air pollution and epigenetic aging at birth. DNAm age was computed using existing epigenetic clock algorithms for cord blood tissue-Knight and Bohlin. Epigenetic age acceleration was defined as the residual of regressing chronological gestational age on DNAm age, accounting for cell type proportions. Multivariable linear regression models and distributed lag models (DLMs), adjusting for child sex, maternal race/ethnicity, study sites, year of birth, maternal education, were completed. In the single-pollutant analysis, we observed exposure to PM2.5, PM10, and O3 during preconception period and pregnancy period were associated with decelerated epigenetic aging at birth. For example, pregnancy average PM10 exposure (per 10 unit increase) was associated with epigenetic age deceleration at birth (weeks) for both Knight and Bohlin clocks (β = -0.62, 95% CI: -1.17, -0.06; β = -0.32, 95% CI: -0.63, -0.01, respectively). Weekly DLMs revealed that increasing PM2.5 during the first trimester and second trimester were associated with decelerated epigenetic aging and that increasing PM10 during the preconception period was associated with decelerated epigenetic aging, using the Bohlin clock estimate. Prenatal ambient air pollution exposure, particularly in early and mid-pregnancy, was associated with decelerated epigenetic aging at birth.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ashley Y. Song
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Jason I. Feinberg
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Kelly M. Bakulski
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Lisa A. Croen
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA, United States
| | - M. Daniele Fallin
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Craig J. Newschaffer
- College of Health and Human Development, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, United States
| | - Irva Hertz-Picciotto
- Department of Public Health Sciences, UC Davis, Davis CA and the UC Davis MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA, United States
| | - Rebecca J. Schmidt
- Department of Public Health Sciences, UC Davis, Davis CA and the UC Davis MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA, United States
| | - Christine Ladd-Acosta
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Heather E. Volk
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Poloni C, Szyf M, Cheishvili D, Tsoukas CM. Are the Healthy Vulnerable? Cytomegalovirus Seropositivity in Healthy Adults Is Associated With Accelerated Epigenetic Age and Immune Dysregulation. J Infect Dis 2022; 225:443-452. [PMID: 34255838 PMCID: PMC8344607 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiab365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Evaluating age as a risk factor for susceptibility to infectious diseases, particularly coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is critical. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) serologic prevalence increases with age and associates with inflammatory-mediated diseases in the elderly. However, little is known regarding the subclinical impact of CMV and risk it poses to healthy older adults. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic we conducted a study to determine the association of CMV to biologic age and immune dysregulation. METHODS Community-dwelling, healthy adults older than 60 years were evaluated using DNA methylation assays to define epigenetic age (EpiAge) and T-cell immunophenotyping to assess immune dysregulation. RESULTS All subjects were healthy and asymptomatic. Those CMV seropositive had more lymphocytes, CD8 T cells, CD28- T cells, decreased CD4:CD8 cell ratios, and had higher average EpiAge (65.34 years) than those CMV seronegative (59.53 years). Decreased percent CD4 (P = .003) and numbers of CD4 T cells (P = .0199) correlated with increased EpiAge. CONCLUSIONS Our novel findings distinguish altered immunity in the elderly based on CMV status. Chronic CMV infection in healthy, older adults is associated with indicators of immune dysregulation, both of which correlate to differences in EpiAge.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chad Poloni
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Moshe Szyf
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | | | - Christos M Tsoukas
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Division of Experimental Medicine, The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Demidenko O, Barardo D, Budovskii V, Finnemore R, Palmer FR, Kennedy BK, Budovskaya YV. Rejuvant®, a potential life-extending compound formulation with alpha-ketoglutarate and vitamins, conferred an average 8 year reduction in biological aging, after an average of 7 months of use, in the TruAge DNA methylation test. Aging (Albany NY) 2021; 13:24485-24499. [PMID: 34847066 PMCID: PMC8660611 DOI: 10.18632/aging.203736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The search continues for possible interventions that delay and/or reverse biological aging, resulting in extended healthspan and lifespan. Interventions delaying aging in animal models are well established; however, most lack validation in humans. The length of human lifespan makes it impractical to perform survival analysis. Instead, aging biomarkers, such as DNA methylation (DNAm) clocks, have been developed to monitor biological age. Herein we report a retrospective analysis of DNA methylation age in 42 individuals taking Rejuvant®, an alpha-ketoglutarate based formulation, for an average period of 7 months. DNAm testing was performed at baseline and by the end of treatment with Rejuvant® supplementation. Remarkably, individuals showed an average decrease in biological aging of 8 years (p-value=6.538x10-12). Furthermore, the supplementation with Rejuvant® is robust to individual differences, as indicated by the fact that a large majority of participants decreased their biological age. Moreover, we found that Rejuvant® is of additional benefit to chronologically and biologically older individuals. While continued testing, particularly in a placebo-controlled design, is required, the nearly 8-year reversal in the biological age of individuals taking Rejuvant® for 4 to 10 months is noteworthy, making the natural product cocktail an intriguing candidate to affect human aging.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Diogo Barardo
- Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Singapore, Singapore 117456, Singapore
| | | | | | | | - Brian K Kennedy
- Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Singapore, Singapore 117456, Singapore.,Ponce de Leon Health, Fernandina, FL 32034, USA.,Centre for Healthy Longevity, National University Health System, Singapore 117456, Singapore.,Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, Singapore 117609, Singapore
| | | |
Collapse
|