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Updated: Oct 10, 2025

A Phenotyping Regimen for Genetically Modified Mice Used to Study Genes Implicated in Human Diseases of Aging
Published on: July 14, 2016
Misexpression of genes lacking CpG islands drives degenerative changes during aging
Jun-Yeong Lee1, Ian Davis1, Elliot H H Youth1,2
1Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine, MDI Biological Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA.
Abstract:
Cellular aging is characterized by disruption of the nuclear lamina and its associated heterochromatin. How these structural changes within the nucleus contribute to age-related degeneration of the organism is unclear. Genes lacking CpG islands (CGI− genes) generally associate with heterochromatin when they are inactive. Here, we show that the expression of these genes is globally activated in aged cells and tissues. This CGI− gene misexpression is a common feature of normal and pathological aging in mice and humans. We report evidence that CGI− gene up-regulation is directly responsible for age-related physiological deterioration, notably for increased secretion of inflammatory mediators.
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