Epigenetic Clocks Are Not Accelerated in COVID-19 Patients.
Julia FranzenSelina NüchternVithurithra TharmapalanMargherita VieriMiloš NikolićYang HanPaul BalfanzNikolaus MarxMichael DreherTim Henrik BrümmendorfEdgar DahlFabian BeierWolfgang WagnerPublished in: International journal of molecular sciences (2021)
Age is a major risk factor for severe outcome of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In this study, we followed the hypothesis that particularly patients with accelerated epigenetic age are affected by severe outcomes of COVID-19. We investigated various DNA methylation datasets of blood samples with epigenetic aging signatures and performed targeted bisulfite amplicon sequencing. Overall, epigenetic clocks closely correlated with the chronological age of patients, either with or without acute respiratory distress syndrome. Furthermore, lymphocytes did not reveal significantly accelerated telomere attrition. Thus, these biomarkers cannot reliably predict higher risk for severe COVID-19 infection in elderly patients.
Keyphrases
- dna methylation
- coronavirus disease
- genome wide
- acute respiratory distress syndrome
- sars cov
- gene expression
- early onset
- end stage renal disease
- extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
- mechanical ventilation
- chronic kidney disease
- newly diagnosed
- prognostic factors
- cancer therapy
- type diabetes
- peritoneal dialysis
- drug induced
- intensive care unit
- high resolution
- insulin resistance
- patient reported outcomes
- mass spectrometry
- patient reported