Longevity & AgingScientists Map Universal Gene Expression Signatures of Aging and Mortality Across Mammals
Researchers integrated over 11,000 transcriptomes from more than 25 tissues across mice, rats, macaques, and humans to build highly accurate biomarkers of chronological age and expected mortality. The study uncovered universal gene expression signatures of mammalian aging, including CDKN1A and LGALS3, whose protein levels also predicted mortality and multimorbidity in the UK Biobank. Aging-related changes were organized into co-regulated modules spanning inflammation, interferon signaling, mitochondrial function, chromatin modification, and extracellular matrix organization. Module-specific clocks revealed that chronic diseases accelerate inflammatory aging, while caloric restriction targets mitochondrial and metabolic modules. A web tool (TACO) and R package were released to enable broad application of these biomarkers.
