The Impact of Exercise on Telomere Length, DNA Methylation and Metabolic Footprints

Aging as a major risk factor influences the probability of developing cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, amongst others. The underlying mechanisms of disease are still not fully understood, but research suggests that delaying the aging process could ameliorate these pathologies. A key biological process in aging is cellular senescence which is associated with several stressors such as telomere shortening or enhanced DNA methylation. Telomere length as well as DNA methylation levels can be used as biological age predictors which are able to detect excessive acceleration or deceleration of aging. Analytical methods examining aging are often not suitable, expensive, time-consuming or require a high level of technical expertise. Therefore, research focusses on combining analytical methods which have the potential to simultaneously analyse epigenetic, genomic as well as metabolic changes.

Automated summary

Aging is a major risk factor for developing diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Delaying the aging process may help improve these pathologies. Cellular senescence, a key biological process in aging, is associated with stressors such as telomere shortening and enhanced DNA methylation. Telomere length and DNA methylation levels can be used as predictors of biological age, detecting excessive acceleration or deceleration of aging. Analytical methods for studying aging are often unsuitable, expensive, time-consuming, or require specialized expertise. Therefore, research focuses on combining analytical methods to simultaneously examine epigenetic, genomic, and metabolic changes.