DNA甲基化与衰老的相关研究进展

摘要

衰老是人类生活中一个自然而渐进的过程.在大多数生物体中,衰老速度与平均寿命成反比,它受遗传、环境、生活方式和疾病等影响.衰老被认为与细胞中各种分子的改变有关,这种改变在人的一生中积累.而DNA甲基化是老化过程中研究最深入和表征最完善的表观遗传修饰之一.DNA甲基化模式的变化被认为是衰老的主要标志之一.自1983年起,用于检测DNA甲基化的技术得到大幅度提升,且其在医学和生物学中的作用取得重大进展.因此,了解衰老过程中发生的DNA甲基化变化是一个主要的研究领域,这将有助于寻找衰老的标识基因和开发新的治疗方法来延缓衰老.%Aging is a natural and gradual process in human life .In most organisms , the rate of aging is inversely pro-portional to average life expectancy .It is affected by heredity , environment , lifestyle and disease .Aging is thought to be related to changes in various molecules in a cell ,a change that accumulates throughout one′s life.DNA methylation is one of the most studied and well-characterized epigenetic modifications in the aging process .DNA methylation patterns change is considered to be one of the main signs of aging .Since 1983,the technology used to detect DNA methylation has been greatly improved,and its application in medicine and biology has made significant progress .Therefore, understanding the changes in DNA methylation in the process of aging is a major research field ,which will help find aging marker genes and develop new treatments to delay aging .