Umeå University's logo

umu.sePublications
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Modeling DNA Methylation Clocks
Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Physics. (LizanaLab, Iceland)
2024 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

 DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism crucial for gene regulation and cell differentiation. The process occurs at ’CG’ motives along the DNA sequence, called CpG sites. Methylation patterns shift during development and in response to diseases, stress, and aging. Their relation to aging is exploited by statistical models known as Epigenetic Clocks. The clocks track the methylation levels of 100 − 102 specific sites and aim to measure an individual’s biological age, rather than chronological age. However, the mechanism driving DNA methylation changes over time, and its effects on organisms remain unknown. To address the gap, we study two CpG density-dependent models: a mean-field model for CpG clusters and a molecular model with single-site resolution. The mean-field model, composed of Ordinary Differential Equations, uses Bayesian inference to fit parameters to experimental DNA methylation data. The molecular model simulates specific genome segments, tracking the methylation state of individual CpG sites. We tested the models on CpG sites associated with EpigeneticClocks. We found that the mean-field model performs well on small clusters (<60CpG sites), while the molecular model reflects known methylation characteristics but overestimates demethylation in real sequences. The results lay the groundwork for improving the models and conducting mechanistic analyses. In the future, we aim to mimic molecular stresses, evaluate gene expression changes related to diseases, and identify vulnerable methylation states and sensitive parameters.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2024. , p. 25
Keywords [en]
Epigenetic Clocks, DNA methylation, CpG clusters, Modeling, Bayesian Infer- ence
National Category
Biophysics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-228460OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-228460DiVA, id: diva2:1888942
Educational program
Master's Programme in Physics
Presentation
2024-06-06, Icelab, Umeå, 11:33 (English)
Supervisors
Examiners
Available from: 2025-01-16 Created: 2024-08-14 Last updated: 2025-02-20Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

fulltext(3028 kB)308 downloads
File information
File name FULLTEXT01.pdfFile size 3028 kBChecksum SHA-512
0292ac23fcb676f1d0fde4663343946c51ace5de4b88f339e66ee8765dcbde3cabaa4821c689de041a8d0473d625f0af4aceb94d0837c75fec6536f82a749550
Type fulltextMimetype application/pdf

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Carcedo Martínez, Antón
By organisation
Department of Physics
Biophysics

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar
Total: 310 downloads
The number of downloads is the sum of all downloads of full texts. It may include eg previous versions that are now no longer available

urn-nbn

Altmetric score

urn-nbn
Total: 568 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf