Research Paper Volume 10, Issue 2 pp 241—252
Modified aging of elite athletes revealed by analysis of epigenetic age markers
- 1 Central Forensic Laboratory of the Police, Warsaw, Poland
- 2 Malopolska Centre of Biotechnology of the Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
- 3 Department of Theory of Sport, Józef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
- 4 Forensic Genetics Unit, Institute of Forensic Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- 5 Laboratory of Neurogenetics, Department of Neurodegenerative Disorders, Mossakowski Medical Research Centre, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
- 6 Department of Medical Genetics, Centre for Biostructure, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
- 7 Department of Rehabilitation, Physiotherapy Division, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Received: December 18, 2017 Accepted: February 9, 2018 Published: February 15, 2018
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.101385How to Cite
Copyright: Spólnicka et al. This is an open‐access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Recent progress in epigenomics has led to the development of prediction systems that enable accurate age estimation from DNA methylation data. Our objective was to track responses to intense physical exercise of individual age-correlated DNA methylation markers and to infer their potential impact on the aging processes. The study showed accelerated DNA hypermethylation for two CpG sites in TRIM59 and KLF14. Both markers predicted the investigated elite athletes to be several years older than controls and this effect was more substantial in subjects involved in power sports. Accordingly, the complete 5-CpG model revealed age acceleration of elite athletes (P=1.503x10-7) and the result was more significant amongst power athletes (P=1.051x10-9). The modified methylation of TRIM59 and KLF14 in top athletes may be accounted for by the biological roles played by these genes. Their known anti-tumour and anti-inflammatory activities suggests that intense physical training has a complex influence on aging and potentially launches signalling networks that contribute to the observed lower risk of elite athletes to develop cardiovascular disease and cancer.