title: Aging is associated with quantitative and qualitative changes in circulating cell-free DNA: the Vitality 90+ study.
abstract: As a marker of cellular death, cell-free DNA (cf-DNA) has a utility in diagnosis and prognosis of various disorders. Since aging accompanies increased cellular senescence and death, we aimed to characterize potential age-related alterations in cf-DNA. The study population consisted of 12 nonagenarian women (participants in the Vitality 90+ Study) and 11 healthy control women (aged 22-37 years). Some of the nonagenarians (n=8) were also recruited for follow-up after one year. cf-DNA was extracted using two different methods. Total cf-DNA was quantified directly in plasma and the amplifiable cf-DNA was assessed using quantitative PCR. Quality of cf-DNA was analysed with a DNA Chip assay. For all the quantification methods, the concentration of cf-DNA was significantly higher (p<0.05) in nonagenarians as compared to controls. The quality of the cf-DNA also displayed a marked difference between nonagenarians and controls; a fragmented pattern or appearance of low molecular weight cf-DNA was observed in the majority of the nonagenarians, whereas in controls, cf-DNA was intact and had a quasi-genomic, high molecular weight appearance. In nonagenarians, the quality of cf-DNA appeared similar in the original and follow-up samples. We propose that some, as yet uncharacterized, aspects of aging are reflected in the appearance of cf-DNA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School, University of Tampere, Biokatu 6, FIN-Medi 33014, Finland. juulia.jylhava@uta.fi
authors.forename: Juulia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jylhävä
authors.forename: Tapio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kotipelto
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raitala
authors.forename: Marja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jylhä
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hervonen
authors.forename: Mikko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hurme
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008970:Molecular Weight; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D055815:Young Adult; D055544:beta-Globins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D055544:beta-Globins; D004247:DNA