"Aging" (senescence) can refer to different processes, making it difficult to identify a single, highly generalized molecule or method to measure the aging process. In turn, there is a lack of consistency in the molecular, biological, functional, clinical and phenotypic biomarkers of aging.
In a new article, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in the United States, in collaboration with aging experts from around the world, systematically adapted and extended existing frameworks to classify aging biomarkers and their clinical applications. The findings are published in the August 31, 2023 issue of Cell in a paper titled "Biomarkers of aging for the identification and evaluation of longevity interventions ".
Dr. Jesse Poganik of the Department of Genetics at Brigham and Women's Hospital, co-first author of the paper, said, "As understanding of the basic biology of aging deepens, our work provides a powerful framework for the classification and assessment of biomarkers, while also documenting the challenges and future directions for the field. "
By categorizing the strengths and limitations of different biomarkers, these authors have also compiled a list of criteria that will allow scientists to determine whether a candidate biomarker is feasible, effective, and useful for a particular setting or application. Key evaluation criteria included age sensitivity and generalizability for different cell types.
Dr. Mahdi Moqri, co-first author of the paper and from the Department of Genetics at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said, "Advanced histological biomarkers, once validated in different populations and environments, will provide us with powerful tools to monitor healthy aging, screen for diseases of aging, and identify longevity interventions."
These authors also review the process of analytical validation of these biomarkers through reproducible laboratory measurements and the process of clinical validation of these biomarkers through results observed in human studies. Finally, they review the major challenges facing the clinical use of biomarkers, such as how to distinguish between biomarkers that assess actual age (chronological age) and those that measure the rate of aging. They provide a novel framework to prepare biomarkers to move toward clinical use.
The ability to quantify biological age and determine the impact of interventions on it is a major advance in the field," said Vadim Gladyshev, co-corresponding author of the paper and professor of medicine in the Department of Genetics at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Defining the core terms of our study including senescence, biological age, and biomarkers of aging is also critical and may set the stage for future advances."
