Gene body DNA hydroxymethylation restricts the magnitude of transcriptional changes during aging

Nature Communications · July 2024

Occean JR, Yang N, Sun Y, Dawkins MS, Munk R, Belair C, Dar S, Anerillas C, Wang L, Shi C, Dunn C, Bernier M, Price NL, Kim JS, Cui C-Y, Fan J, Bhattacharyya M, De S, Maragkakis M, de Cabo R, Sidoli S, Sen P

Summary

This study reveals that 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) enrichment in gene bodies acts as an epigenetic mechanism that constrains the amplitude of transcriptional changes occurring during aging. Genes with high 5hmC show attenuated age-related expression changes, identifying DNA hydroxymethylation as a regulator of transcriptional stability in aging tissues.

Summary#

Summary