美国科研人员发表研究报告称，他们发明了一种通过唾液来判断人年龄的方法。
张开嘴，吐唾液就可判断你的年龄
美国加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校的科研人员22日发表研究报告称，他们发明了一种通过唾液来判断人年龄的方法。
在人衰老的过程中，人体遗传物质脱氧核糖核酸(DNA)中的甲基化水平也会发生变化。此次，研究人员在人体脱氧核糖核酸中确认了88个节段，这些节段的甲基化水平与年龄之间的关系尤其紧密。
接着，研究人员检测收集到的唾液样本中的脱氧核糖核酸，然后比对88个节段的甲基化水平，并据此推断出提供唾液样本的人的年龄。结果发现，误差范围在5年以内。
以上研究成果22日刊登在美国《国家科学院学报》网络版上。
生物探索推荐英文摘要
Epigenetic Predictor of AgeMyrmecomorphic Spiders
Abstract：From the moment of conception, we begin to age. A decay of cellular structures, gene regulation, and DNA sequence ages cells and organisms. DNA methylation patterns change with increasing age and contribute to age related disease. Here we identify 88 sites in or near 80 genes for which the degree of cytosine methylation is significantly correlated with age in saliva of 34 male identical twin pairs between 21 and 55 years of age. Furthermore, we validated sites in the promoters of three genes and replicated our results in a general population sample of 31 males and 29 females between 18 and 70 years of age. The methylation of three sites—in the promoters of the EDARADD, TOM1L1, and NPTX2 genes—is linear with age over a range of five decades. Using just two cytosines from these loci, we built a regression model that explained 73% of the variance in age, and is able to predict the age of an individual with an average accuracy of 5.2 years. In forensic science, such a model could estimate the age of a person, based on a biological sample alone. Furthermore, a measurement of relevant sites in the genome could be a tool in routine medical screening to predict the risk of age-related diseases and to tailor interventions based on the epigenetic bio-age instead of the chronological age.
