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Higgins-Chen AT, Thrush KL, Wang Y, Minteer CJ, Kuo PL, Wang M, Niimi P, Sturm G, Lin J, Moore AZ, Bandinelli S, Vinkers CH, Vermetten E, Rutten BPF, Geuze E, Okhuijsen-Pfeifer C, van der Horst MZ, Schreiter S, Gutwinski S, Luykx JJ, Picard M, Ferrucci L, Crimmins EM, Boks MP, Hägg S, Hu-Seliger TT, Levine ME. A computational solution for bolstering reliability of epigenetic clocks: Implications for clinical trials and longitudinal tracking. Nat Aging 2022; 2:644-661. [PMID: 36277076 PMCID: PMC9586209 DOI: 10.1038/s43587-022-00248-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Epigenetic clocks are widely used aging biomarkers calculated from DNA methylation data, but this data can be surprisingly unreliable. Here we show technical noise produces deviations up to 9 years between replicates for six prominent epigenetic clocks, limiting their utility. We present a computational solution to bolster reliability, calculating principal components from CpG-level data as input for biological age prediction. Our retrained principal-component versions of six clocks show agreement between most replicates within 1.5 years, improved detection of clock associations and intervention effects, and reliable longitudinal trajectories in vivo and in vitro. This method entails only one additional step compared to traditional clocks, requires no replicates or prior knowledge of CpG reliabilities for training, and can be applied to any existing or future epigenetic biomarker. The high reliability of principal component-based clocks is critical for applications to personalized medicine, longitudinal tracking, in vitro studies, and clinical trials of aging interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert T Higgins-Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Kyra L Thrush
- Program in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Yunzhang Wang
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Pei-Lun Kuo
- Longitudinal Studies Section, Translational Gerontology Branch, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Meng Wang
- Program in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Peter Niimi
- Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Gabriel Sturm
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Division of Behavioral Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United States
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY United States
| | - Jue Lin
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Ann Zenobia Moore
- Longitudinal Studies Section, Translational Gerontology Branch, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Christiaan H Vinkers
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Eric Vermetten
- Department Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Bart P F Rutten
- School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Elbert Geuze
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
- Brain Research & Innovation Centre, Ministry of Defence, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Cynthia Okhuijsen-Pfeifer
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
| | - Marte Z van der Horst
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
- Second Opinion Outpatient Clinic, GGNet Mental Health, Warnsveld, The Netherlands
| | - Stefanie Schreiter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan Gutwinski
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jurjen J Luykx
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
- Second Opinion Outpatient Clinic, GGNet Mental Health, Warnsveld, The Netherlands
| | - Martin Picard
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Division of Behavioral Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United States
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY United States
| | - Luigi Ferrucci
- Longitudinal Studies Section, Translational Gerontology Branch, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Eileen M Crimmins
- Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Marco P Boks
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
| | - Sara Hägg
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Morgan E Levine
- Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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