Epigenetic discovery, HIV accelerates human aging

Changes at the DNA level can accelerate aging by about five years, according to a UCLA-led stud.

According to the findings, people newly infected with HIV may have a life expectancy reduction of about 5 years compared to people without HI.

"Our study shows that even in the first few months or years of living with HIV, the virus already initiates an accelerated aging process at the DNA level," said the study's lead author, Cousins ​​Psychology at UCL.

The research was recently published in the journal iScienc.

Previous research has shown that HIV and antiretroviral therapy used to control infection are associated with earlier onset of age-related diseases such as heart and kidney disease, frailty and cognitive impairmen.

The researchers examined blood samples from 102 men taken six months or less before they became HIV-positive and again two to three years late.

The researchers focused on how HIV affects epigenetic DNA methylation, the process cells use to turn genes on or off during normal physiological change.

The research team examined five epigenetic markers of agin.

In each of the four epigenetic clock measures, HIV-infected people showed marked acceleration in age -- ranging from 9 to 8 years -- and in the absence of highly active antiretroviral therapy Lower, telomeres shorten over a period of time that begins before infection and ends 2 to 3 years after infectio.

"We obtained rare, well-characterized samples, which allowed us to engineer a response to the biology of HIV in inducing early ageing," said senior author Beth Jamieson, a professor in the Geffen College's Division of Hematology and Oncolog.

The researchers noted some limitations of the stud.

There is no consensus on what normal aging is and how to define it, the researchers wrot.

Reference: Accelerated aging with HIV begins at the time of initial HIV infection