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The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences Advance Access published online on February 17, 2009
The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, doi:10.1093/gerona/gln057
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Age-Related Changes in Subtelomeric Methylation in the Normal Japanese Population

Toyoki Maeda, Jing Zhi Guan, Jun-ichi Oyama, Yoshihiro Higuchi and Naoki Makino

Division of Molecular and Clinical Gerontology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Beppu, Oita, Japan

Address correspondence to Toyoki Maeda, MD, PhD, Division of Molecular and Clinical Gerontology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, 4546 Tsurumihara, Beppu, Oita 874-0838, Japan. Email: maedat{at}beppu.kyushu-u.ac.jp


  Abstract

Background: The telomeres of somatic cells become shorter with individual aging. However, no significant change in subtelomeric methylation of somatic cells with aging has yet been reported.

Methods: Telomere lengths of the peripheral blood cells of 148 normal Japanese were analyzed by Southern blotting using methylation-sensitive and -insensitive isoschizomers.

Results: With aging, long telomeres decrease and short telomeres increase, and the contents of the telomeres with methylated subtelomere increase in long telomeres, thus leading us to postulate that telomeres with less methylated subtelomeres tend to become shortened faster.

Conclusions: A telomere length distribution analysis with methylation-sensitive and -insensitive isoschizomer seems to be a useful tool to assess the subtelomeric methylation status of the somatic cell population. The subtelomeric methylation of peripheral blood cells is also indicated to be an indicator for aging-associated genomic changes.

Keywords Telomere; Aging; DNA methylation; Japanese

Received: July 23, 2008; Accepted: December 10, 2008

Decision Editor: Huber R. Warner, PhD


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