title: Transcriptional profiling of aging in human muscle reveals a common aging signature.
abstract: We analyzed expression of 81 normal muscle samples from humans of varying ages, and have identified a molecular profile for aging consisting of 250 age-regulated genes. This molecular profile correlates not only with chronological age but also with a measure of physiological age. We compared the transcriptional profile of muscle aging to previous transcriptional profiles of aging in the kidney and the brain, and found a common signature for aging in these diverse human tissues. The common aging signature consists of six genetic pathways; four pathways increase expression with age (genes in the extracellular matrix, genes involved in cell growth, genes encoding factors involved in complement activation, and genes encoding components of the cytosolic ribosome), while two pathways decrease expression with age (genes involved in chloride transport and genes encoding subunits of the mitochondrial electron transport chain). We also compared transcriptional profiles of aging in humans to those of the mouse and fly, and found that the electron transport chain pathway decreases expression with age in all three organisms, suggesting that this may be a public marker for aging across species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California, USA.
authors.forename: Jacob M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Zahn
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sonu
authors.forename: Hannes
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Crane
authors.forename: Krystyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mazan-Mamczarz
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rabkin
authors.forename: Ronald W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Kevin G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Art B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.forename: Stuart K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D004330:Drosophila; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008875:Middle Aged; D009132:Muscles / Q000473:pathology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers