Can Changing DNA Methylation Really Reverse Aging?

Not long ago, there was a new development in the international anti-aging field.

Kirsten Seale et al. published a review in Nature Reviews Genetics titled "Making sense of the ageing methylome", demonstrating in detail the close link between DNA methylation and aging, which not only provides an important basis for epigenetic aging mechanisms, but also brings new hope for the public to fight against aging.

So today, let's also talk about DNA methylation.

Before we talk about DNA methylation, it is important to know what epigenetics is.

Epigenetic inheritance means that the gene sequence of DNA does not change, but the gene expression is heritable changed. What does this mean? Simply put, it means that even when possessing the same genes, individuals may exhibit different outward effects. The most intuitive example of this is that identical twins have the same genes, but they may grow up to be two very different people, and may even develop completely different states of aging.

The main reason why the same genes produce different gene expression and even affect the performance status of an organism is because our genes have "tags" that act as switches to determine whether the genes work in our cells or not. These "tags" can change due to environmental changes, thus influencing the direction of cell development, determining who we will become and how young we will be physically.

DNA methylation is one of these "tags".

DNA methylation is a chemical modification of DNA that can alter genetic nature without altering the DNA sequence. Numerous studies have shown that DNA methylation can cause changes in chromatin structure, DNA conformation, DNA stability, and the way DNA interacts with proteins, thereby regulating gene expression.

Simply put, DNA methylation can determine the "life and death" of genes and whether they can function in the cell by many means.

For example, when a healthy gene meets methylation, the methylation will be turned off by "internal means" so that it is no longer expressed, and the unhealthy gene will then "take over" and eventually cause the cell to show an unhealthy state, which will be reflected in the external manifestation of the body and start to show disease or aging.

This is why when the body ages, a large amount of DNA methylation is found in the genome.

In recent years, there are many studies on DNA methylation. Scientists are trying to find an intervention method that can regulate the level of DNA methylation, so as to slow down the aging speed of the body.

Previously, a randomized controlled clinical study published in the internationally recognized journal Aging showed that the physiological age of the trial group was more than 3 years younger than the control group through diet and lifestyle modification over an 8-week period. And this study confirms for the first time that specific dietary and lifestyle interventions can alter DNA methylation epigenetic processes and reverse organismal aging.

At the same time, our scientists have made significant progress in research targeting DNA methylation.

In a study conducted by the Anti-Aging Center of the State Key Laboratory of Research on Complex Diseases and Innovative Chinese Medicines, experimenters administered BaZiBuShen to 60-week-old senescent mice (equivalent to 50 years old in humans) and reversed the age of the senescent mice to 40 weeks old (equivalent to 37 years old in humans) after 2 months. Moreover, it was found that the DNA methylation level was significantly lower and aging-related gene expression was relatively lower in the young animal group and the BaZiBuShen group compared to the old animal group. This study also confirmed that BaZiBuShen could improve methylation age and thus delay aging.

It is clear that reversing physiological age is no longer "impossible", and multiple interventions and synergistic effects through diet, exercise, sleep and drugs can achieve surprising results. As research continues, more interventions will be discovered in the future to help us improve DNA methylation levels in the body and to better delay aging.