Inflammaging Markers in the Extremely Cold Climate: A Case Study of Yakutian Population.

Yakutia is one of the coldest permanently inhabited regions in the world, characterized by a subarctic climate with average January temperatures near -40 °C and the minimum below -60 °C. Recently, we demonstrated accelerated epigenetic aging of the Yakutian population in comparison to their Central Russian counterparts, residing in a considerably milder climate. In this paper, we analyzed these cohorts from the inflammaging perspective and addressed two hypotheses: a mismatch in the immunological profiles and accelerated inflammatory aging in Yakuts.

Epigenetics of the far northern Yakutian population.

Background: Yakuts are one of the indigenous populations of the subarctic and arctic territories of Siberia characterized by a continental subarctic climate with severe winters, with the regular January average temperature in the regional capital city of Yakutsk dipping below - 40 °C. The epigenetic mechanisms of adaptation to such ecologies and environments and, in particular, epigenetic age acceleration in the local population have not been studied before.

Results: This work reports the first epigenetic study of the Yakutian population using whole-blood DNA methylation data, supplemented with the comparison to the residents of Central Russia.

Brown adipose tissue thermogenesis among young adults in northeastern Siberia and Midwest United States and its relationship with other biological adaptations to cold climates.

Objectives: Recent research suggests that brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a functional role in non-shivering thermogenesis; however, few studies have examined population variation in BAT or its relationship with other mechanisms of adaptation to cold stress. This study characterized BAT thermogenesis and other adaptive responses to low temperatures among Indigenous Siberian young adults and young adults living near Chicago, IL.

Materials And Methods: We recruited 72 Yakut participants (42 females; 30 males) and 54 participants in Evanston, IL (40 females; 14 males).

Evidence for a sensitive period of plasticity in brown adipose tissue during early childhood among indigenous Siberians.

Objectives: Evolutionary theorists have debated the adaptive significance of developmental plasticity in organisms with long lifespans such as humans. This debate in part stems from uncertainty regarding the timing of sensitive periods. Does sensitivity to environmental signals fluctuate across development or does it steadily decline? We investigated developmental plasticity in brown adipose tissue (BAT) among indigenous Siberians in order to explore the timing of phenotypic sensitivity to cold stress.