We previously reported the association between DNA methylation (DNAm) of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes and age. In addition, neurotrophic factors are known to be associated with age and neurocognitive disorders. Therefore, we hypothesized that DNAm of neurotrophic genes change with age, especially in delirium patients. DNAm was analyzed using the Illumina HumanMethylation450 or HumanMethylationEPIC BeadChip Kit in 3 independent cohorts: blood from 383 Grady Trauma Project subjects, brain from 21 neurosurgery patients, and blood from 87 inpatients with and without delirium. Both blood and brain samples showed that most of the DNAm of neurotrophic genes were positively correlated with age. Furthermore, DNAm of neurotrophic genes was more positively correlated with age in delirium cases than in non-delirium controls. These findings support our hypothesis that the neurotrophic genes may be epigenetically modulated with age, and this process may be contributing to the pathophysiology of delirium.

中文翻译：

---

神经营养基因中 DNA 甲基化与年龄之间的关系从三个独立的队列中得到证实：谵妄状态的差异

我们之前报道了促炎细胞因子基因的 DNA 甲基化 (DNAm) 与年龄之间的关联。此外，已知神经营养因子与年龄和神经认知障碍有关。因此，我们假设神经营养基因的 DNAm 会随着年龄的增长而变化，尤其是在谵妄患者中。使用 Illumina HumanMethylation450 或 HumanMethylationEPIC BeadChip 试剂盒在 3 个独立队列中分析 DNAm：来自 383 名 Grady Trauma Project 受试者的血液、来自 21 名神经外科患者的大脑以及来自 87 名患有和不患有谵妄的住院患者的血液。血液和大脑样本均显示，大部分神经营养基因的 DNAm 与年龄呈正相关。此外，神经营养基因的 DNAm 在谵妄病例中与年龄的正相关比在非谵妄对照组中更显着。