After critical studies on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), for example because of the increased risk of cancer, the hype surrounding the alleged “fountain of youth” died down a few years ago. Scientists from Innsbruck have now discovered an “epigenetic clock” that shows that combined HRT slows down the aging of epithelial cells in postmenopausal women – but only if they do not have breast cancer, the researchers report Fachjournal “Genome Biology”.
The working group led by Martin Widschwendter, Professor for Cancer Prevention and Screening at the University of Innsbruck and head of the Institute for Prevention and Screening (EUTOPS) founded by the state of Tyrol, has developed a method to measure the aging process of epithelial cells (WID relative epithelial age, WID REA). According to a press release from the University of Innsbruck, these cells cover the inner and outer body surfaces and glands and are essential for the function of most organs.
With this so-called epigenetic clock, markings on the genetic material (“DNA methylation”) of epithelial cells in the cervix are measured. These specific changes in the DNA strand occur during the aging process and are also influenced by environment and lifestyle. They have a major impact on what functions cells can perform.
The epigenetic clock
Using more than 2,000 samples from gynecological check-ups, the researchers have now shown that combined HRT with progesterone and estrogen slows down the aging of epithelial cells after menopause. “However, this advantage was not observed in women with breast cancer,” says the doctor. Their cells aged at the same rate as in women without therapy. Why this is so is not yet entirely clear.
Widschwendter is confident that further research will soon be able “to use epigenetic clocks to determine which women benefit from slower cell aging in combined hormone replacement therapy and how we can individually adapt health-preserving measures”. (apa)