摘要： Background Epigenetic drift progressively increases variation in DNA modification profiles of aging cells, but the finale of such divergence remains elusive. In this study, we explored the dynamics of DNA modification and transcription in the later stages of human life. Results We find that brain tissues of older individuals (>75 years) become more similar to each other, both epigenetically and transcriptionally, compared with younger individuals. Inter-individual epigenetic assimilation is concurrent with increasing similarity between the cerebral cortex and the cerebellum, which points to potential brain cell dedifferentiation. DNA modification analysis of twins affected with Alzheimer’s disease reveals a potential for accelerated epigenetic assimilation in neurodegenerative disease. We also observe loss of boundaries and merging of neighboring DNA modification and transcriptomic domains over time. Conclusions Age-dependent epigenetic divergence, paradoxically, changes to convergence in the later stages of life. The newly described phenomena of epigenetic assimilation and tissue dedifferentiation may help us better understand the molecular mechanisms of aging and the origins of diseases for which age is a risk factor. 其他題名： Genome Biol 出版者： London: BioMed Central 出版日期： 2016-04-28 出處： Genome Biology, 2016-04, Vol.17 (1), p.76-76, Article 76 資源來源： Publicly Available Content Database 版權： Oh et al. 2016 版權： COPYRIGHT 2016 BioMed Central Ltd. 版權： 2016. This work is licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License. 識別號： ISSN: 1474-760X 識別號： ISSN: 1474-7596 識別號： EISSN: 1474-760X 識別號： DOI: 10.1186/s13059-016-0946-8 識別號： PMID: 27122015
