1 91 156 A PILOT STUDY EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHRONIC HEROIN USE AND TELOMERE LENGTH AMONG INDIVIDUALS OF AFRICAN ANCESTRY. BACKGROUND: PRIOR RESEARCH HAS SUGGESTED A POSSIBLE LINK BETWEEN HEROIN USE AND SHORTENED TELOMERE LENGTH (TL), A MARKER OF CELLULAR AGING AND GENOMIC STABILITY. WE SOUGHT TO REPLICATE THESE FINDINGS BY EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TL AND HEROIN USE AMONG INDIVIDUALS OF AFRICAN ANCESTRY. METHODS: THIS CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY EXAMINED TL AMONG 57 PARTICIPANTS [17.5 % FEMALE; MEAN AGE 48.0 (+/-6.80) YEARS] OF AFRICAN ANCESTRY WITH OPIOID USE DISORDER (OUD) AND A MEAN HEROIN USE DURATION OF 18.2 (+/-10.7) YEARS. QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (QPCR) WAS USED TO CALCULATE TL AS THE RATIO BETWEEN TELOMERE REPEAT COPY NUMBER (T) AND A SINGLE-COPY GENE, COPY NUMBER (S). THE PRIMARY DEPENDENT VARIABLE WAS TL (T/S RATIO) MEASURED IN KILOBASE PAIRS. COVARIATES INCLUDED HEROIN USE YEARS AND PERSONALITY TRAITS. USING A HYBRID APPROACH, MULTIPLE LINEAR REGRESSION AND BAYESIAN LINEAR REGRESSION EXAMINED THE ASSOCIATION OF CHRONOLOGICAL AGE, HEROIN USE YEARS AND PERSONALITY TRAITS WITH TL. RESULTS: THE MULTIPLE LINEAR REGRESSION MODEL FIT THE DATA WELL, R(2) = 0.265, F(7,49) = 2.53, P < .026. CHRONOLOGICAL AGE (BETA = -0.36, P = .017), NEUROTICISM (BETA = 0.46, P = .044), AND CONSCIENTIOUSNESS (BETA = 0.52, P = .040) WERE SIGNIFICANT PREDICTORS OF TL. BAYESIAN LINEAR REGRESSION PROVIDED MODERATE SUPPORT FOR THE ALTERNATE HYPOTHESIS THAT CHRONOLOGICAL AGE AND TL ARE ASSOCIATED, BF(10) = 5.77, R(2) = 0.120. THE POSTERIOR SUMMARY OF THE COEFFICIENT WAS M = 0.719 (SD = 0.278, 95 % CREDIBLE INTERVAL [-1.28, -0.163]). CONCLUSIONS: CONTRARY TO PRIOR STUDIES, THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT HEROIN USE DURATION MAY NOT BE SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH TL AMONG INDIVIDUALS OF AFRICAN ANCESTRY, HIGHLIGHTING THE NEED FOR MORE RIGOROUS RESEARCH TO ELUCIDATE THE COMPLEXITY OF THIS RELATIONSHIP. 2023 2 5478 22 RESULTS OF A RANDOMIZED STUDY OF 3 SCHEDULES OF LOW-DOSE DECITABINE IN HIGHER-RISK MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME AND CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. EPIGENETIC THERAPY WITH HYPOMETHYLATING DRUGS IS NOW THE STANDARD OF CARE IN MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME (MDS). RESPONSE RATES REMAIN LOW, AND MECHANISM-BASED DOSE OPTIMIZATION HAS NOT BEEN REPORTED. WE INVESTIGATED THE CLINICAL AND PHARMACODYNAMIC RESULTS OF DIFFERENT DOSE SCHEDULES OF DECITABINE. ADULTS WITH ADVANCED MDS OR CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) WERE RANDOMIZED TO 1 OF 3 DECITABINE SCHEDULES: (1) 20 MG/M2 INTRAVENOUSLY DAILY FOR 5 DAYS; (2) 20 MG/M2 SUBCUTANEOUSLY DAILY FOR 5 DAYS; AND (3) 10 MG/M2 INTRAVENOUSLY DAILY FOR 10 DAYS. RANDOMIZATION FOLLOWED A BAYESIAN ADAPTIVE DESIGN. NINETY-FIVE PATIENTS WERE TREATED (77 WITH MDS, AND 18 WITH CMML). OVERALL, 32 PATIENTS (34%) ACHIEVED A COMPLETE RESPONSE (CR), AND 69 (73%) HAD AN OBJECTIVE RESPONSE BY THE NEW MODIFIED INTERNATIONAL WORKING GROUP CRITERIA. THE 5-DAY INTRAVENOUS SCHEDULE, WHICH HAD THE HIGHEST DOSE-INTENSITY, WAS SELECTED AS OPTIMAL; THE CR RATE IN THAT ARM WAS 39%, COMPARED WITH 21% IN THE 5-DAY SUBCUTANEOUS ARM AND 24% IN THE 10-DAY INTRAVENOUS ARM (P < .05). THE HIGH DOSE-INTENSITY ARM WAS ALSO SUPERIOR AT INDUCING HYPOMETHYLATION AT DAY 5 AND AT ACTIVATING P15 EXPRESSION AT DAYS 12 OR 28 AFTER THERAPY. WE CONCLUDE THAT A LOW-DOSE, DOSE-INTENSITY SCHEDULE OF DECITABINE OPTIMIZES EPIGENETIC MODULATION AND CLINICAL RESPONSES IN MDS. 2007 3 3420 32 HUMAN LUNG DNA METHYLATION QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI COLOCALIZE WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION LOCI. RATIONALE: AS THE THIRD LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE UNITED STATES, THE IMPACT OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) MAKES IDENTIFICATION OF ITS MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE. GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES (GWASS) HAVE IDENTIFIED MULTIPLE GENOMIC REGIONS ASSOCIATED WITH COPD. HOWEVER, GENETIC VARIATION ONLY EXPLAINS A SMALL FRACTION OF THE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO COPD, AND SUB-GENOME-WIDE SIGNIFICANT LOCI MAY PLAY A ROLE IN PATHOGENESIS. OBJECTIVES: REGULATORY ANNOTATION WITH EPIGENETIC EVIDENCE MAY GIVE PRIORITY FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION, PARTICULARLY FOR GWAS ASSOCIATIONS IN NONCODING REGIONS. WE PERFORMED INTEGRATIVE GENOMICS ANALYSES USING DNA METHYLATION PROFILING AND GENOME-WIDE SNP GENOTYPING FROM LUNG TISSUE SAMPLES FROM 90 SUBJECTS WITH COPD AND 36 CONTROL SUBJECTS. METHODS: WE PERFORMED METHYLATION QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI (MQTL) ANALYSES, TESTING FOR SNPS ASSOCIATED WITH PERCENT DNA METHYLATION AND ASSESSED THE COLOCALIZATION OF THESE RESULTS WITH PREVIOUS COPD GWAS FINDINGS USING BAYESIAN METHODS IN THE R PACKAGE COLOC TO HIGHLIGHT POTENTIAL REGULATORY FEATURES OF THE LOCI. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: WE IDENTIFIED 942,068 UNIQUE SNPS AND 33,996 UNIQUE CPG SITES AMONG THE SIGNIFICANT (5% FALSE DISCOVERY RATE) CIS-MQTL RESULTS. THE GENOME-WIDE SIGNIFICANT AND SUBTHRESHOLD (P < 10(-4)) GWAS SNPS WERE ENRICHED IN THE SIGNIFICANT MQTL SNPS (HYPERGEOMETRIC TEST P < 0.00001). WE OBSERVED ENRICHMENT FOR SITES LOCATED IN CPG SHORES AND SHELVES, BUT NOT CPG ISLANDS. USING BAYESIAN COLOCALIZATION, WE IDENTIFIED LOCI IN REGIONS NEAR KCNK3, EEFSEC, PIK3CD, DCDC2C, TCERG1L, FRMD4B, AND IL27. CONCLUSIONS: COLOCALIZATION OF MQTL AND GWAS LOCI PROVIDES REGULATORY CHARACTERIZATION OF SIGNIFICANT AND SUBTHRESHOLD GWAS FINDINGS, SUPPORTING A ROLE FOR GENETIC CONTROL OF METHYLATION IN COPD PATHOGENESIS. 2018 4 4235 33 METHYLATION OF THE AIM2 GENE: AN EPIGENETIC MEDIATOR OF PTSD-RELATED INFLAMMATION AND NEUROPATHOLOGY PLASMA BIOMARKERS. BACKGROUND: POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) IS ASSOCIATED WITH INFLAMMATION AND VARIOUS FORMS OF CHRONIC DISEASE. THE ABSENT IN MELANOMA 2 (AIM2) GENE HAS BEEN IMPLICATED IN MECHANISMS OF INFLAMMATION AND ANXIETY, AND METHYLATION AT A PARTICULAR LOCUS IN THIS GENE (CG10636246) HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN SHOWN TO INFLUENCE THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PTSD AND ELEVATED C-REACTIVE PROTEIN LEVELS IN BLOOD. METHOD: WE TESTED IF THIS ASSOCIATION MIGHT EXTEND TO OTHER INDICATORS OF INFLAMMATION AND TO PLASMA-BASED MEASURES OF NEUROPATHOLOGY IN A COHORT OF POST-9/11 US MILITARY VETERANS. USING A BAYESIAN APPROACH, MEDIATION MODELS WERE TESTED CROSS-SECTIONALLY (N = 478) AND LONGITUDINALLY (N = 298). PERIPHERAL MARKERS OF INFLAMMATION AND NEUROPATHOLOGY WERE MEASURED WITH ULTRA-SENSITIVE SINGLE MOLECULE ARRAY (SIMOA(R)) TECHNOLOGY. RESULTS: ANALYSES REVEALED INDIRECT EFFECTS OF PTSD SYMPTOM SEVERITY ON PERIPHERAL INDICES OF BOTH INFLAMMATION (INTERLEUKIN [IL]6, IL-10, TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA; INDIRECT STANDARDIZED [STD.] SS RANGE = 0.018-0.023, ALL P-VALUES ADJUSTED FOR MULTIPLE TESTING [P(ADJ) ] < 0.05) AND NEUROPATHOLOGY (NEUROFILAMENT LIGHT [NFL]; INDIRECT STD. SS = -0.018, P(ADJ) = 0.02) VIA AIM2 METHYLATION. THIS INDIRECT EFFECT WAS ALSO EVIDENT WHEN PREDICTING IL-10 AT A FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENT (INDIRECT STD. SS = -0.018, P(ADJ) = 0.04) CONTROLLING FOR BASELINE IL-10. CONCLUSIONS: GIVEN THAT AIM2 METHYLATION MEDIATED THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PTSD SYMPTOMS AND MULTIPLE INFLAMMATORY AND NEUROPATHOLOGY MARKERS, OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT AIM2 METHYLATION MAY OFFER CLINICAL UTILITY FOR INDEXING RISK FOR ADVERSE HEALTH OUTCOMES ASSOCIATED WITH THESE PERIPHERAL INDICES OF INFLAMMATION AND NEUROPATHOLOGY. RESULTS ALSO SUGGEST A POSSIBLE SHARED ETIOLOGY UNDERLYING THE FREQUENT CO-OCCURRENCE OF INFLAMMATION AND NEUROPATHOLOGY. 2022 5 4249 41 METHYLATION-BASED BIOLOGICAL AGE AND BREAST CANCER RISK. BACKGROUND: AGE IS ONE OF THE STRONGEST PREDICTORS OF CANCER, CHRONIC DISEASE, AND MORTALITY, BUT BIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO AGING DIFFER AMONG PEOPLE. EPIGENETIC DNA MODIFICATIONS HAVE BEEN USED TO ESTIMATE "BIOLOGICAL AGE," WHICH MAY BE A USEFUL PREDICTOR OF DISEASE RISK. WE TESTED THIS HYPOTHESIS FOR BREAST CANCER. METHODS: USING A CASE-COHORT APPROACH, WE MEASURED BASELINE BLOOD DNA METHYLATION OF 2764 WOMEN ENROLLED IN THE SISTER STUDY, 1566 OF WHOM SUBSEQUENTLY DEVELOPED BREAST CANCER AFTER AN AVERAGE OF 6 YEARS. USING THREE PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED METHYLATION-BASED "CLOCKS" (HANNUM, HORVATH, AND LEVINE), WE DEFINED BIOLOGICAL AGE ACCELERATION FOR EACH WOMAN BY COMPARING HER ESTIMATED BIOLOGICAL AGE WITH HER CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. HAZARD RATIOS AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS FOR BREAST CANCER RISK WERE ESTIMATED USING COX REGRESSION MODELS. ALL STATISTICAL TESTS WERE TWO-SIDED. RESULTS: EACH OF THE THREE CLOCKS SHOWED THAT BIOLOGICAL AGE ACCELERATION WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF DEVELOPING BREAST CANCER (5-YEAR AGE ACCELERATION, HANNUM'S CLOCK: HAZARD RATIO [HR] = 1.10, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI] = 1.00 TO 1.21, P = .04; HORVATH'S CLOCK: HR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.00 TO 1.17, P = .04; LEVINE'S CLOCK: HR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.07 TO 1.23, P < .001). FOR LEVINE'S CLOCK, EACH 5-YEAR ACCELERATION IN BIOLOGICAL AGE CORRESPONDED WITH A 15% INCREASE IN BREAST CANCER RISK. ALTHOUGH BIOLOGICAL AGE MAY ACCELERATE WITH MENOPAUSAL TRANSITION, AGE ACCELERATION IN PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN INDEPENDENTLY PREDICTED BREAST CANCER. CASE-ONLY ANALYSIS SUGGESTED THAT, AMONG WOMEN WHO DEVELOP BREAST CANCER, INCREASED AGE ACCELERATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH INVASIVE CANCER (ODDS RATIO FOR INVASIVE = 1.09, 95% CI = 0.98 TO 1.22, P = .10). CONCLUSIONS: DNA METHYLATION-BASED MEASURES OF BIOLOGICAL AGE MAY BE IMPORTANT PREDICTORS OF BREAST CANCER RISK. 2019 6 1956 41 EPIGENETIC AGE IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD AMONG CHILDREN, ADOLESCENT, AND ADULT SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER. IMPORTANCE: CERTAIN CANCER THERAPIES ARE RISK FACTORS FOR EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (EAA) AMONG SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER, AND EAA IS ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS (CHCS). HOWEVER, SMALL NUMBERS OF YOUNGER SURVIVORS (AGED <20 YEARS) PREVIOUSLY EVALUATED HAVE LIMITED THE ABILITY TO CALCULATE EAA AMONG THIS AGE GROUP. OBJECTIVE: TO EVALUATE THE CHANGE RATE OF EPIGENETIC AGE (EA) AND EAA IN YOUNGER COMPARED WITH OLDER SURVIVORS AND THE POSSIBLE ASSOCIATION OF EAA WITH EARLY-ONSET OBESITY (AGED <20 YEARS), SEVERITY/BURDEN OF CHCS, AND LATE MORTALITY (>5 YEARS FROM CANCER DIAGNOSIS). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: STUDY PARTICIPANTS WERE FROM THE ST JUDE LIFETIME COHORT, INITIATED IN 2007 WITH ONGOING FOLLOW-UP. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED FROM APRIL 17, 2022, TO MARCH 23, 2023. SURVIVORS IN THIS COHORT OF EUROPEAN ANCESTRY WITH DNA METHYLATION DATA WERE INCLUDED. CROSS-SECTIONAL ANNUAL CHANGES IN EA AND EAA WERE COMPARED ACROSS 5 DIFFERENT CHRONOLOGIC AGE GROUPS: AGE 0 TO 9 (CHILDREN), 10 TO 19 (ADOLESCENTS), 20 TO 34 (YOUNGER ADULTS), 35 TO 49 (MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS), AND GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO 50 (OLDER ADULTS) YEARS. LOGISTIC REGRESSION EVALUATED THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EAA AND EARLY-ONSET OBESITY OR SEVERITY/BURDEN OF CHCS. COX PROPORTIONAL HAZARDS REGRESSION ASSESSED THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EAA AND LATE MORTALITY. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: EARLY-ONSET OBESITY, SEVERITY/BURDEN OF CHCS (GRADED USING THE COMMON TERMINOLOGY CRITERIA FOR ADVERSE EVENTS (GRADE 1, MILD; 2, MODERATE; 3, SEVERE/DISABLING; 4, LIFE-THREATENING) AND WERE COMBINED INTO HIGH VS LOW SEVERITY/BURDEN BASED ON FREQUENCY AND GRADE), AND LATE MORTALITY WERE THE OUTCOMES BASED ON FOLLOW-UP UNTIL APRIL 2020. EXPANDED DNA METHYLATION PROFILING INCREASED THE NUMBER OF SURVIVORS YOUNGER THAN 20 YEARS (N = 690). EPIGENETIC AGE WAS CALCULATED PRIMARILY USING THE LEVINE CLOCK, AND EAA WAS DERIVED FROM LEAST SQUARES REGRESSION OF EA AGAINST CHRONOLOGIC AGE AND WAS STANDARDIZED TO A Z SCORE (LEVINE EEA). RESULTS: AMONG 2846 PARTICIPANTS (MEDIAN AGE, 30.3 [IQR, 9.3-41.5] YEARS; 53% MALES), THE CROSS-SECTIONAL ANNUAL CHANGE IN EA_LEVINE WAS HIGHER IN CHILDREN (1.63 YEARS) AND ADOLESCENTS (1.14 YEARS), AND THE ADJUSTED LEAST-SQUARES MEAN OF LEVINE EEA WAS LOWER IN CHILDREN (-0.22 YEARS) AND OLDER ADULTS (-1.70 YEARS). EACH 1-SD INCREASE IN LEVINE EEA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF DEVELOPING EARLY-ONSET OBESITY (ODDS RATIO [OR], 1.46; 95% CI, 1.19-1.78), HIGH SEVERITY/BURDEN OF CHCS (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.03-1.24), AND LATE MORTALITY (HAZARD RATIO, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.35-2.26). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT EAA MEASURED IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENT SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER IS ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY-ONSET OBESITY, SEVERITY/BURDEN OF ALL CHCS, AND LATE MORTALITY. EVALUATING EAA MAY HELP IDENTIFY SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER AT INCREASED RISK FOR EARLY-ONSET OBESITY, MORBIDITY IN GENERAL, AND MORTALITY. 2023 7 403 44 ANALYSIS OF EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION AND HEALTHY LONGEVITY AMONG OLDER US WOMEN. IMPORTANCE: ACCELERATED BIOLOGICAL AGING IS ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED PHYSICAL CAPABILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING, WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. OBJECTIVE: WE INVESTIGATED ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (EAA), A BIOMARKER ASSOCIATED WITH AGING, AND HEALTHY LONGEVITY AMONG OLDER WOMEN. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: THIS COHORT STUDY WAS A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE WOMEN'S HEALTH INITIATIVE (WHI) WHO WERE ELIGIBLE TO SURVIVE TO AGE 90 YEARS BY SEPTEMBER 30, 2020. PARTICIPANTS WERE LOCATED IN MULTIPLE CENTERS. THIS STUDY WAS RESTRICTED TO WOMEN WITH GENOME-WIDE DNA METHYLATION DATA, GENERATED FROM BASELINE BLOOD SAMPLES WITHIN 3 WHI ANCILLARY STUDIES. MEDIAN (IQR) FOLLOW-UP TIMES FROM BASELINE WERE 21.6 (19.6-22.9) YEARS AND 21.4 (19.8-22.7) YEARS FOR WOMEN WHO SURVIVED TO AGE 90 YEARS WITH AND WITHOUT INTACT MOBILITY, RESPECTIVELY, AND 13.2 (8.8-16.7) FOR WOMEN WHO DID NOT SURVIVE TO AGE 90 YEARS. DATA WERE ANALYZED FROM DECEMBER 2020 TO JULY 2021. EXPOSURES: EAA WAS ESTIMATED USING 4 ESTABLISHED "CLOCKS": HORVATH PANTISSUE, HANNUM, PHENO, AND GRIM. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: USING MULTINOMIAL LOGISTIC REGRESSION, ODDS RATIOS (ORS) AND 95% CIS WERE ESTIMATED FOR 3 HEALTHY LONGEVITY OUTCOMES FOR EACH CLOCK: SURVIVAL TO AGE 90 YEARS WITH INTACT MOBILITY, SURVIVAL TO AGE 90 YEARS WITHOUT INTACT MOBILITY, AND NO SURVIVAL TO AGE 90 YEARS. RESULTS: AMONG 1813 WOMEN, THERE WERE 464 WOMEN (MEAN [SD] AGE AT BASELINE, 71.6 [3.5] YEARS) WHO SURVIVED TO AGE 90 YEARS WITH INTACT MOBILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING, 420 WOMEN (MEAN [SD] AGE AT BASELINE, 71.3 [3.2] YEARS) WHO SURVIVED TO AGE 90 YEARS WITHOUT INTACT MOBILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING, AND 929 WOMEN (MEAN [SD] AGE AT BASELINE, 70.2 [3.4] YEARS) WHO DID NOT SURVIVE TO AGE 90 YEARS. WOMEN WHO SURVIVED TO AGE 90 YEARS WITH INTACT MOBILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION WERE HEALTHIER AT BASELINE COMPARED WITH WOMEN WHO SURVIVED WITHOUT THOSE OUTCOMES OR WHO DID NOT SURVIVE TO AGE 90 YEARS (EG, 143 WOMEN [30.8%] VS 101 WOMEN [24.0%] AND 202 WOMEN [21.7%] WITH 0 CHRONIC CONDITIONS). THE ODDS OF SURVIVING TO AGE 90 YEARS WITH INTACT MOBILITY WERE LOWER FOR EVERY 1 SD INCREASE IN EAA COMPARED WITH THOSE WHO DID NOT SURVIVE TO AGE 90 YEARS AS MEASURED BY AGEACCELHORVATH (OR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.69-0.96; P = .01), AGEACCELHANNUM (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.56-0.80; P < .001), AGEACCELPHENO (OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.51-0.72; P < .001), AND AGEACCELGRIM (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.55-0.84; P < .001). ORS WERE SIMILAR FOR WOMEN WHO SURVIVED TO AGE 90 YEARS WITH INTACT MOBILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION (EG, AGEACCELHORVATH: OR PER 1 SD INCREASE IN EAA, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.71-0.98; P = .03) COMPARED WITH WOMEN WHO DID NOT SURVIVE TO AGE 90 YEARS. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT EAA MAY BE A VALID BIOMARKER ASSOCIATED WITH HEALTHY LONGEVITY AMONG OLDER WOMEN AND MAY BE USED FOR RISK STRATIFICATION AND RISK ESTIMATION OF FUTURE FUNCTIONAL AND COGNITIVE AGING. OUTCOMES SUGGEST THAT FUTURE STUDIES MAY FOCUS ON THE POTENTIAL FOR PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTIONS TO COUNTERACT EAA AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH POOR HEALTH OUTCOMES TO LOWER DISEASE BURDEN WHILE INCREASING LONGEVITY. 2022 8 1450 33 DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN TWO COMMON BIOMARKERS OF GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION. BACKGROUND: THE QUANTIFICATION OF GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED IN EPIGENETIC SCREENING. AS MORE PRACTICABLE ALTERNATIVES TO THE HPLC-BASED GOLD STANDARD, THE METHYLATION ANALYSIS OF CPG ISLANDS IN REPEATABLE ELEMENTS (LINE-1) AND THE LUMINOMETRIC METHYLATION ASSAY (LUMA) OF OVERALL 5-METHYLCYTOSINE CONTENT IN "CCGG" RECOGNITION SITES ARE MOST WIDELY USED. BOTH METHODS ARE APPLIED AS VIRTUALLY EQUIVALENT, DESPITE THE HINTS THAT THEIR RESULTS ONLY PARTLY AGREE. THIS TRIGGERED THE PRESENT AGREEMENT ASSESSMENTS. RESULTS: THREE DIFFERENT HUMAN CELL TYPES (CULTURED MCF7 AND SHSY5Y CELL LINES TREATED WITH DIFFERENT CHEMICAL MODULATORS OF DNA METHYLATION AND WHOLE BLOOD DRAWN FROM PAIN PATIENTS AND HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS) WERE SUBMITTED TO THE GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION ASSAYS EMPLOYING LINE-1 OR LUMA-BASED PYROSEQUENCING MEASUREMENTS. THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TWO BIOASSAYS WAS ASSESSED USING GENERALLY ACCEPTED APPROACHES TO THE STATISTICS FOR LABORATORY METHOD COMPARISON STUDIES. ALTHOUGH GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION LEVELS MEASURED BY THE TWO METHODS CORRELATED, FIVE DIFFERENT LINES OF STATISTICAL EVIDENCE CONSISTENTLY REJECTED THE ASSUMPTION OF COMPLETE AGREEMENT. SPECIFICALLY, A BIAS WAS OBSERVED BETWEEN THE TWO METHODS. IN ADDITION, BOTH THE MAGNITUDE AND DIRECTION OF BIAS WERE TISSUE-DEPENDENT. INTERASSAY DIFFERENCES COULD BE GROUPED BASED ON BAYESIAN STATISTICS, AND THESE GROUPS ALLOWED IN TURN TO RE-IDENTIFY THE ORIGINATING TISSUE. CONCLUSIONS: ALTHOUGH PROVIDING PARTLY CORRELATED MEASUREMENTS OF DNA METHYLATION, INTERCHANGEABILITY OF THE QUANTITATIVE RESULTS OBTAINED WITH LINE-1 AND LUMA WAS JEOPARDIZED BY A CONSISTENT BIAS BETWEEN THE RESULTS. MOREOVER, THE PRESENT ANALYSES STRONGLY INDICATE A TISSUE SPECIFICITY OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO METHODS. 2016 9 935 35 CHRONIC LOW-DOSE EXPOSURE TO XENOESTROGEN AMBIENT AIR POLLUTANTS AND BREAST CANCER RISK: XENAIR PROTOCOL FOR A CASE-CONTROL STUDY NESTED WITHIN THE FRENCH E3N COHORT. BACKGROUND: BREAST CANCER IS THE MOST FREQUENT CANCER IN WOMEN IN INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES. LIFESTYLE AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, PARTICULARLY ENDOCRINE-DISRUPTING POLLUTANTS, HAVE BEEN SUGGESTED TO PLAY A ROLE IN BREAST CANCER RISK. CURRENT EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES, ALTHOUGH NOT FULLY CONSISTENT, SUGGEST A POSITIVE ASSOCIATION OF BREAST CANCER RISK WITH EXPOSURE TO SEVERAL INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR RESEARCH ON CANCER GROUP 1 AIR-POLLUTANT CARCINOGENS, SUCH AS PARTICULATE MATTER, POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS (PCB), DIOXINS, BENZO[A]PYRENE (BAP), AND CADMIUM. HOWEVER, EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES REMAIN SCARCE AND INCONSISTENT. IT HAS BEEN PROPOSED THAT THE MENOPAUSAL STATUS COULD MODIFY THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLLUTANTS AND BREAST CANCER AND THAT THE ASSOCIATION VARIES WITH HORMONE RECEPTOR STATUS. OBJECTIVE: THE XENAIR PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THE ASSOCIATION OF BREAST CANCER RISK (OVERALL AND BY HORMONE RECEPTOR STATUS) WITH CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO SELECTED AIR POLLUTANTS, INCLUDING PARTICULATE MATTER, NITROGEN DIOXIDE (NO2), OZONE (O3), BAP, DIOXINS, PCB-153, AND CADMIUM. METHODS: OUR RESEARCH IS BASED ON A CASE-CONTROL STUDY NESTED WITHIN THE FRENCH NATIONAL E3N COHORT OF 5222 INVASIVE BREAST CANCER CASES IDENTIFIED DURING FOLLOW-UP FROM 1990 TO 2011, AND 5222 MATCHED CONTROLS. A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS SENT TO ALL PARTICIPANTS TO COLLECT THEIR LIFETIME RESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES AND INFORMATION ON INDOOR POLLUTION. WE WILL ASSESS THESE EXPOSURES USING COMPLEMENTARY MODELS OF LAND-USE REGRESSION, ATMOSPHERIC DISPERSION, AND REGIONAL CHEMISTRY-TRANSPORT (CHIMERE) MODELS, VIA A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM. ASSOCIATIONS WITH BREAST CANCER RISK WILL BE MODELED USING CONDITIONAL LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODELS. WE WILL ALSO STUDY THE IMPACT OF EXPOSURE ON DNA METHYLATION AND INTERACTIONS WITH GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS. APPROPRIATE STATISTICAL METHODS, INCLUDING BAYESIAN MODELING, PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS, AND CLUSTER ANALYSIS, WILL BE USED TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF MULTIPOLLUTANT EXPOSURE. THE FRACTION OF BREAST CANCER CASES ATTRIBUTABLE TO AIR POLLUTION WILL BE ESTIMATED. RESULTS: THE XENAIR PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ON THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION AND IDENTIFY AND UNDERSTAND ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS RELATED TO BREAST CANCER RISK. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS WILL PROVIDE RELEVANT EVIDENCE TO GOVERNMENTS AND POLICY-MAKERS TO IMPROVE EFFECTIVE PUBLIC HEALTH PREVENTION STRATEGIES ON AIR POLLUTION. THE XENAIR DATASET CAN BE USED IN FUTURE EFFORTS TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION ASSOCIATED WITH OTHER CHRONIC CONDITIONS. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/15167. 2020 10 5463 35 RESIDENTIAL PM(2.5) EXPOSURE AND THE NASAL METHYLOME IN CHILDREN. RATIONALE: PM(2.5-)INDUCED ADVERSE EFFECTS ON RESPIRATORY HEALTH MAY BE DRIVEN BY EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS IN AIRWAY CELLS. THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF EXPOSURE DURATION ON EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS IN THE AIRWAYS IS NOT YET KNOWN. OBJECTIVES: WE AIMED TO STUDY ASSOCIATIONS OF FINE PARTICULATE MATTER PM(2.5) EXPOSURE WITH DNA METHYLATION IN NASAL CELLS. METHODS: WE CONDUCTED NASAL EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION ANALYSES WITHIN 503 CHILDREN FROM PROJECT VIVA (MEAN AGE 12.9 Y), AND EXAMINED VARIOUS EXPOSURE DURATIONS (1-DAY, 1-WEEK, 1-MONTH, 3-MONTHS AND 1-YEAR) PRIOR TO NASAL SAMPLING. WE USED RESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES TO ESTIMATE AVERAGE DAILY PM(2.5) AT 1 KM RESOLUTION. WE COLLECTED NASAL SWABS FROM THE ANTERIOR NARES AND MEASURED DNA METHYLATION (DNAM) USING THE ILLUMINA METHYLATIONEPIC BEADCHIP. WE TESTED 719,075 HIGH QUALITY AUTOSOMAL CPGS USING CPG-BY-CPG AND REGIONAL DNAM ANALYSES CONTROLLING FOR MULTIPLE COMPARISONS, AND ADJUSTED FOR MATERNAL EDUCATION, HOUSEHOLD SMOKERS, CHILD SEX, RACE/ETHNICITY, BMI Z-SCORE, AGE, SEASON AT SAMPLE COLLECTION AND CELL-TYPE HETEROGENEITY. WE FURTHER CORRECTED FOR BIAS AND GENOMIC INFLATION. WE TESTED FOR REPLICATION IN A COHORT FROM THE NETHERLANDS (PIAMA). RESULTS: IN ADJUSTED ANALYSES, WE FOUND 362 CPGS ASSOCIATED WITH 1-YEAR PM(2.5) (FDR < 0.05), 20 CPGS PASSING BONFERRONI CORRECTION (P < 7.0X10(-8)) AND 10 DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED REGIONS (DMRS). IN 445 PIAMA PARTICIPANTS (MEAN AGE 16.3 YEARS) 11 OF 203 AVAILABLE CPGS REPLICATED AT P < 0.05. WE OBSERVED DIFFERENTIAL DNAM AT/NEAR GENES IMPLICATED IN CELL CYCLE, IMMUNE AND INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES. THERE WERE NO CPGS OR REGIONS ASSOCIATED WITH PM(2.5) LEVELS AT 1-DAY, 1-WEEK, OR 1-MONTH PRIOR TO SAMPLE COLLECTION, ALTHOUGH 2 CPGS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH PAST 3-MONTH PM(2.5). CONCLUSION: WE OBSERVED WIDE-SPREAD DNAM VARIABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH AVERAGE PAST YEAR PM(2.5) EXPOSURE BUT WE DID NOT DETECT ASSOCIATIONS WITH SHORTER-TERM EXPOSURE. OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT NASAL DNAM MARKS REFLECT CHRONIC AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURE. 2021 11 2678 27 EVALUATION OF A PROGNOSTIC EPIGENETIC CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM IN CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA PATIENTS. BACKGROUND: METHYLATION AT 5 CPG SITES WAS PREVIOUSLY SHOWN TO CLASSIFY CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CLL) INTO 3 PROGNOSTIC SUBGROUPS. HERE, WE AIMED TO VALIDATE THE MARKER SET IN AN ADDITIONAL COHORT AND TO EVALUATE ITS CLINICAL UTILITY FOR CLL PATIENT STRATIFICATION. METHODS: WE EVALUATED THIS EPIGENETIC MARKER SET IN 79 GERMAN PATIENTS USING BISULFITE TREATMENT FOLLOWED BY PYROSEQUENCING AND CLASSIFICATION USING A SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINE-LEARNING TOOL. RESULTS: THE N-CLL, I-CLL, AND M-CLL CLASSIFICATION WAS DETECTED IN 28 (35%), 10 (13%), AND 41 (51%) PATIENTS, RESPECTIVELY. EPIGENETIC GROUPING WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IGHV MUTATIONAL STATUS (P = 2 X 10(-12)), ISOLATED DEL13Q (P = 9 X 10(-6)), DEL17P (P = .015), COMPLEX KARYOTYPE (P = .005), VH-USAGE, AND CLINICAL OUTCOME AS TIME TO FIRST TREATMENT (P = 1.4 X 10(-12)) AND OVERALL SURVIVAL (P = .003). MULTIVARIATE COX REGRESSION ANALYSIS IDENTIFIED N-CLL AS A FACTOR FOR EARLIER TREATMENT HAZARD RATIO (HR), 6.3 (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI] 2.4-16.4; P = .0002) COMPARED TO IGHV MUTATIONAL STATUS (HR 4.6, 95% CI 1.9-11.3, P = .0008). IN ADDITION, WHEN COMPARING THE PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF THE EPIGENETIC CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM WITH THE IGHV CLASSIFICATION, EPIGENETIC GROUPING PERFORMED BETTER COMPARED TO IGHV MUTATIONAL STATUS USING KAPLAN-MEIER ESTIMATION AND ALLOWED THE IDENTIFICATION OF A THIRD, INTERMEDIATE (I-CLL) GROUP. THUS, OUR STUDY CONFIRMED THE PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF THE EPIGENETIC MARKER SET FOR PATIENT STRATIFICATION IN ROUTINE CLINICAL DIAGNOSTICS. 2022 12 3063 35 GENOME-WIDE DNA METHYLATION AND LONG-TERM AMBIENT AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURE IN KOREAN ADULTS. BACKGROUND: AMBIENT AIR POLLUTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH NUMEROUS ADVERSE HEALTH OUTCOMES, BUT THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS ARE NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD; EPIGENETIC EFFECTS INCLUDING ALTERED DNA METHYLATION COULD PLAY A ROLE. TO EVALUATE ASSOCIATIONS OF LONG-TERM AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURE WITH DNA METHYLATION IN BLOOD, WE CONDUCTED AN EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY IN A KOREAN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE COHORT (N = 100 INCLUDING 60 CASES) USING ILLUMINA'S INFINIUM HUMANMETHYLATION450K BEADCHIP. ANNUAL AVERAGE CONCENTRATIONS OF PARTICULATE MATTER