The loss of epigenetic information: not only consequences but a cause of mammalian aging

In a recent study published in Cell , Yang et al. revealed that changes in epigenetic landscapes caused by faithful DNA repair are key drivers accelerating aging of mammalian organs or tissues. 1 Impressively, changes in H3K27ac landscape during aging process influence cell identity maintenance, and this aging process can be reversed by the inducible expression of pioneer transcription factors, Oct4, Sox2, and Klf4 (OSK) in the living mammals.