Evaluation of pediatric epigenetic clocks across multiple tissues

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Fang Fang, RTI International; Linran Zhou, RTI International; Wei Perng, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus; Carmen Marsit, Emory University; Anna Knight, Emory University; Andres Cardenas, Stanford School of Medicine; Max T. Aung, University of Southern California; Marie-France Hivert, Harvard Medical School; Izzuddin M. Aris, Harvard Medical School; Jaclyn M. Goodrich, University of Michigan; Alicia K Smith, Emory University; Abigail Gaylord, New York University School of Medicine; Rebecca C. Fry, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; Emily Oken, Harvard Medical School; George O'Connor, Boston University School of Medicine; Douglas m. Ruden, Wayne State University; Leonardo Trasande, New York University School of Medicine; Julie B. Herbstman, Columbia University; Carlos A. Camargo Jr., Harvard Medical School; Nicole R. Bush, University of California, San Francsico; Anne Lang Dunlop, Emory University; Dana M. Dabelea, University of Colorado, Anshutz Medical Campus; Margaret R. Karagas, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth; Carrie V. Breton, University of Southern California; Carole Ober, University of Chicago; Todd M. Everson, Emory University; Grier P. Page, RTI International; Christine Ladd-Acosta, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-09-02
• Publisher: Springer Nature
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2023
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs13148-023-01552-3
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Clinical Epigenetics
• Volume: 15
• Start Page: 142
• Grant/Funding Information: The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Research reported in this publication was supported by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, under Award Numbers U2COD023375 (Coordinating Center), U24OD023382 (Data Analysis Center), U24OD023319 with co-funding from the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research (PRO Core). The following grants supported data collection: Project Viva is supported by NIH UH3OD023286 (Oken) and R01HD034568; The Healthy Start Study is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01DK076648 and UH3OD023248 (Dabelea). The URECA studies are supported by NIH grants UG3/UH3OD023282 (Gern), UM1 AI114271, and UM1 AI160040; ARCH is supported by NIH UG3OD023285 and UH3OD023285 (Kerver); MADRES is supported by UH3OD023287 (Breton); ECHO-NOVI is supported by R01HD072267, UG3OD023347, UH3OD023347 (Lester), and R01HD084515; UH3OD023318 (Dunlop), R01MD009064 (Smith/Dunlop). UH3OD023253(Camargo); UH3OD023275(Karagas); UH3OD023271(Karr); UH3OD023288(McEvoy); UH3OD023342(Lyall); UH3OD023348 (O’Shea); UH3OD023290 (Herbstman) and UH3OD023305 (Trasande). Dr. Perng is supported by the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute KL2-TR002534 and ADA-7-22-ICTSPM-08.
• Keywords: DNA methylation; Gestational Age; early childhood chronological age; epigenetic clock
• Research Categories: Biology, Genetics; Health Sciences, General

Abstract

Background Epigenetic clocks are promising tools for assessing biological age. We assessed the accuracy of pediatric epigenetic clocks in gestational and chronological age determination. Results Our study used data from seven tissue types on three DNA methylation profiling microarrays and found that the Knight and Bohlin clocks performed similarly for blood cells, while the Lee clock was superior for placental samples. The pediatric-buccal-epigenetic clock performed the best for pediatric buccal samples, while the Horvath clock is recommended for children's blood cell samples. The NeoAge clock stands out for its unique ability to predict post-menstrual age with high correlation with the observed age in infant buccal cell samples. Conclusions Our findings provide valuable guidance for future research and development of epigenetic clocks in pediatric samples, enabling more accurate assessments of biological age.