Welcome to MAGE
Welcome to the homepage of MAGE --- A Model of the Ageing Epigenome. MAGE was started in February 2011 as part of the GerontoSys2 initiative of the German Federal Ministery of Education and Research (BMBF).

Ageing is characterized by a gradual functional decline of virtually every tissue system and increased vulnerability and susceptibility to numerous diseases. Various experiments demonstrated that restrictions in regenerative mechanisms are fundamental in mammalian ageing, affecting whether tissue homeostasis can be maintained by the organism. These regenerative mechanisms predominately rely on an appropriately regulated balance between self-renewal and differentiation of functional adult stem cells. During ageing, gene expression profiles of stem cells undergo changes that are accompanied by decreased chromatin stability. This deregulation impairs stem cell function and can eventually result in loss of stem cell pools, which potentiates the ageing process dramatically. Understanding the processes underlying this decline in regenerative potential of the organism is crucial in order to improve diagnostics and develop strategies for efficient prevention and therapy of age-related diseases. This is our main motivation and goal for MAGE.
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