Dataset Information

Differential DNA methylation and lymphocyte proportions in a Costa Rican high longevity region.

ABSTRACT: The Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica has one of the highest old-age life expectancies in the world, but the underlying biological mechanisms of this longevity are not well understood. As DNA methylation is hypothesized to be a component of biological aging, we focused on this malleable epigenetic mark to determine its association with current residence in Nicoya versus elsewhere in Costa Rica. Examining a population's unique DNA methylation pattern allows us to differentiate hallmarks of longevity from individual stochastic variation. These differences may be characteristic of a combination of social, biological, and environmental contexts.In a cross-sectional subsample of the Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study, we compared whole blood DNA methylation profiles of residents from Nicoya (n = 48) and non-Nicoya (other Costa Rican regions, n = 47) using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 microarray.We observed a number of differences that may be markers of delayed aging, such as bioinformatically derived differential CD8+ T cell proportions. Additionally, both site- and region-specific analyses revealed DNA methylation patterns unique to Nicoyans. We also observed lower overall variability in DNA methylation in the Nicoyan population, another hallmark of younger biological age.Nicoyans represent an interesting group of individuals who may possess unique immune cell proportions as well as distinct differences in their epigenome, at the level of DNA methylation.

SUBMITTER: McEwen LM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5408416 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Differential DNA methylation and lymphocyte proportions in a Costa Rican high longevity region.

McEwen Lisa M LM Morin Alexander M AM Edgar Rachel D RD MacIsaac Julia L JL Jones Meaghan J MJ Dow William H WH Rosero-Bixby Luis L Kobor Michael S MS Rehkopf David H DH

Epigenetics & chromatin 20170427

<h4>Background</h4>The Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica has one of the highest old-age life expectancies in the world, but the underlying biological mechanisms of this longevity are not well understood. As DNA methylation is hypothesized to be a component of biological aging, we focused on this malleable epigenetic mark to determine its association with current residence in Nicoya versus elsewhere in Costa Rica. Examining a population's unique DNA methylation pattern allows us to differentiate hal ...[more]

PMID: 28465725

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundPrevious studies have suggested an association between human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) genome methylation and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3) (ie, cervical precancer) and cancer, but the results have been inconsistent.MethodsWe designed a case-control study within a large prospective cohort of women who underwent multiple screenings for cervical cancer in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Diagnostic specimens were collected at the time of CIN3 diagnosis (n = 30 case subjects) and persistent HPV16 infection (persistence; n = 35 case subjects), prediagnostic specimens at the first HPV16-positive screening visit (n = 20 CIN3 case subjects; n = 35 persistence case subjects), and control specimens from women with infection clearance within 2 years (n = 34 control subjects). DNA extracted from specimens (cervical cells) was analyzed for methylation levels at 67 CpG sites throughout the HPV16 genome using pyrosequencing. Benjamini-Hochberg method was used to account for multiple testing. Associations between methylation levels and risk of CIN3 or persistence were assessed using logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsIncreased methylation in diagnostic vs control specimens at nine CpG sites, three in each L1, L2, and E2/E4 genomic regions, was associated with an increased risk of CIN3 (third tertile [high] vs first and second tertiles combined [low], OR = 3.29 [95% CI = 1.16 to 9.34] to 11.12 [95% CI = 2.29 to 76.80]) and persistence. High methylation at three of these CpG sites was associated with a much higher risk when combined compared with low methylation at these sites (OR = 52, 95% CI = 4.0 to 670). In prediagnostic vs control specimens, increased methylation at a CpG site (nucleotide position 4261) in L2 was associated with an increased risk of CIN3.ConclusionIn this HPV16-infected cohort, increased methylation of CpG sites within the HPV16 genome before diagnosis and at the time of diagnosis was associated with cervical precancer.

Dataset Information

Differential DNA methylation and lymphocyte proportions in a Costa Rican high longevity region.

Publications

Differential DNA methylation and lymphocyte proportions in a Costa Rican high longevity region.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets