Older Women with lower lean mass values have hypermethylated sites in the PI3K-Akt pathway

Abstract

The increase in lean mass is directly related to the loss of independence, muscle strength, and worse quality of life over the years. Studies in epigenetics can provide accurate answers about lean mass, demonstrating changes in DNA methylation patterns and possible changes in gene expression. The objective of this study was to verify whether there is a difference in the methylation profile among Brazilian women aged 50 to 70 years with greater or lesser lean mass. A cross-sectional study comprised 22 women aged 50 to 70 years, with 2 groups of 11 participants (Low Lean Mass and More Lean Mass). Lean mass was measured by dual-energy X-ray emission densitometry (DEXA). Blood DNA was collected for methylation assays using the Illumina 850k EPIC Infinium Methylation BeadChip, analyzing data from the Bioconductor chAMP data package medium in RStudio software. We obtained 1,913 differentially methylated (p ≤ 0.005 of delta β > 5% and delta β < -5 %) with a total of 979 genes with different methylation sites between groups (p ≤ 0.005; -5% > delta β > 5%). In addition, the pathway with the greatest power of significance was PI3K-Akt, presenting an FDR of 4.6 x 10-3. Thus, our results demonstrate a differentiation between specific sites of different genes, which have essential functions in body composition and energy metabolism, supporting future studies that aim to relate lean mass with epigenetics.