DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) methylation is a regulator of gene transcription and plays a role in causing hematologic malignancies.
DNA methylation age of blood predicts all-cause mortality in later life.
In proximity of a gene promoter results in stable transcriptional silencing of its expression.
Hypermethylation associated with progression of malignancies, causes arrest in cellular differentiation and is seen in acute leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.
DNA methylation occurs across the genome most often at the approximate 28 million CpG sites in the human genome.
The frequency of methylation changes with age, both increasing at some sites and decreasing at others.
Methylation clocks can help predict chronological age, and age related biological changes, or to predict mortality.