Methylation Status and Human Age at Three Autosomal Loci: A New Forensic Profiling Tool

Abstract

Existing criminal DNA profiling methods require prior inclusion of a profile within a criminal database. The ability to obtain descriptive information about an offender from DNA, regardless of database inclusion, would be of great use for investigators. It has been shown that the methylation status of certain human DNA loci correlates with aging. Thus we have used the Illumina MiSeq next generation sequencing platform to investigate numerous genes suggested to have age correlated methylation levels in blood samples from 82 women aged 18 to 91 years. Methylation levels at three CpGs located in ASPA, ITGA2B and PDE4C genes showed an epigenetic signature of aging with a mean absolute deviation of only 6 years from chronological age-an entirely independent confirmation of an earlier study that identified these loci. The implementation of the methylation pattern of these specific autosomal gene sequences from biological evidence left at crime scene may help build up an accurate picture of an offender’s age.