Cited by 165Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model OrganismsSingle-cell and spatial transcriptomicsEpigenetics and DNA Methylation

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 180 of the 180 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

BiT age: A transcriptome‐based aging clock near the theoretical limit of accuracy

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Abstract

Aging clocks dissociate biological from chronological age. The estimation of biological age is important for identifying gerontogenes and assessing environmental, nutritional, or therapeutic impacts on the aging process. Recently, methylation markers were shown to allow estimation of biological age based on age‐dependent somatic epigenetic alterations. However, DNA methylation is absent in some species such as Caenorhabditis elegans and it remains unclear whether and how the epigenetic clocks affect gene expression. Aging clocks based on transcriptomes have suffered from considerable variation in the data and relatively low accuracy. Here, we devised an approach that uses temporal scaling and binarization of C. elegans transcriptomes to define a gene set that predicts biological age with an accuracy that is close to the theoretical limit. Our model accurately predicts the longevity effects of diverse strains, treatments, and conditions. The involved genes support a role of specific transcription factors as well as innate immunity and neuronal signaling in the regulation of the aging process. We show that this binarized transcriptomic aging (BiT age) clock can also be applied to human age prediction with high accuracy. The BiT age clock could therefore find wide application in genetic, nutritional, environmental, and therapeutic interventions in the aging process.

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Metadata

Authors
Meyer, D. H., & Schumacher, B.
Affiliations
University of Cologne (DE)
Corresponding author
Schumacher, Björn
Venue
Aging Cell
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2021-03
Volume
20
Issue
3
Pages
e13320-e13320
ISSN
  • 1474-9718 (ISSN-L)
  • 1474-9726
OpenAlex
W3133928772
Cited by
165
References
176
Citations by year
2026: 38 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 6
FWCI
7.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Aging Cell (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Kölner Universitäts PublikationsServer (Universität zu Köln) (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Deutsche Krebshilfe (70112899)
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (EXC 2030 ‐ 390661388, GRK2407, KFO 286, KFO 329, SCHU 2494/10‐1, SCHU 2494/11‐1, SCHU 2494/3‐1, SCHU 2494/7‐1, SFB 829)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Aging › Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
Keywords
aging clocks, biological age estimation, transcriptome, Caenorhabditis elegans, time scaling, binarization, longevity, transcription factors, innate immunity, neuronal signaling, epigenetic aging
MeSH terms
Aging, Biological Clocks, Fibroblasts, Humans, Immunity, Innate, Mutation, Neurons, Stress, Physiological, Time Factors, Signal Transduction, Transcriptome

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