Figure 2.

Age-related alterations and potential underlying mechanisms. Aging induces a number of metabolic and functional changes that result in a modified activity of epigenetic enzymes, eventually causing the altered epigenetic landscape of aged organisms exemplified here. However, it is not possible to deduce a general road map for epigenetic aging, as individual alterations can be specific for species, genders, tissues and cell types. Moreover, the complex interplay of the diverse regulation mechanisms is still poorly understood and likely changes at various stages throughout life.