Epigenetic variation mostly due to heritable factors than to age and environmental factors.

The researchers used two cohots of twins, adolescents and middle aged to study DNA methylation at the IGF2/H19 locus. Each cohot was half monozygote and half Dizygote. They observed that heritable factors influenced DNA methylation at the IGF2/H19 locus. Combined influence of environmental and stochastic factors on methylation of this locus did not increase from adolescence to middle age as has been hypothesized. This suggest that some loci are resistant to age related changes in methylation, and it is hyphothesized that when changes do occur in these loci, an epigenetic disease results. Studies have to be conducted to test this..


Source:

Heijmans BT, Kremer D, Tobi EW, Boomsma DI, Slagboom PE. Heritable rather than age related environmental and stochastic factors dominate variation in DNA methylation of the human IGF2/H19 locus. Human Mol Gen 2007;16(5)547-554

doi:10.1093/hmg/ddm010

G. Sebetso