DNA methylation changes in mice induced by mock parabiosis

Aging is classically conceptualized as an ever-increasing trajectory of damage accumulation and loss of function, leading to increases in morbidity and mortality. However, recent in vitro studies have raised the possibility of age reversal. We characterized several models in which biological age, assessed primarily through analysis of DNA methylation, undergoes reversible changes. Heterochronic parabiosis is one such example. We studied a mouse model of mock parabiosis. Mouse pairs (either age-mismatched, heterochronic; or age-matched, isochronic) were subjected to sham parabiosis and maintained for 5 weeks. After this period, mice were euthanized and tissues were collected for analysis. We subjected DNA isolated from these samples to the HorvathMammalMethylChip320 for methylation profiling.