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Rare Genetic Disorder Reveals How a ‘Biological Clock’ Drives Aging
The finding links the DNA methylation clock to earlier tissue decline and disease, and the team says the collaboration involved 76 researchers from seven countries.
Researchers led by the University of Edinburgh discovered Heyn-Sproul-Jackson syndrome , a rare genetic condition where cellular 'biological clocks' accelerate aging far faster than normal.
DNA methylation marks naturally accumulate over time as a 'biological clock' in every cell; in HESJAS patients, these markers occur at the same locations as normal aging but at a much quicker rate.
Accumulating marks impair adult stem cells crucial for tissue renewal, causing health issues typically seen in old age—osteoporosis, hair loss, and metabolic changes like diabetes—much earlier in HESJAS patients.
Published in Nature Genetics, the international study involved 76 researchers from seven countries, with study lead Professor Andrew Jackson emphasizing the importance of understanding this 'biological clock' for long-term health.
Future studies are planned to investigate how DNA methylation reduces tissue renewal and reverse these epigenetic changes, as experts believe the findings could support development of rejuvenation therapies for age-related diseases.