Using Age-Related Gene Expression Changes to Search for Drugs to Slow Aging

In this study, using gene expression data for human brain ageing, we aimed to discover not only new pro-longevity drugs but also those that can improve health during ageing. The biological processes showing a change in expression include pathways related to synaptic and cognitive functions as well as proteostasis, suggesting gene expression changes in the ageing brain could be used as a surrogate to find drugs to target detrimental effects. Using multiple gene expression datasets from brain tissue, taken from patients of different ages, we first identified the expression changes that characterise ageing. Then, we compared these changes in gene expression with drug perturbed expression profiles in the Connectivity Map. We thus identified 24 drugs with significantly associated changes. Some of these drugs may function as anti-ageing drugs by reversing the detrimental changes that occur during ageing, others by mimicking the cellular defense mechanisms. The drugs that we identified included significant number of already identified pro-longevity drugs, indicating that the method can discover de novo drugs that meliorate ageing. The approach has the advantages that, by using data from human brain ageing data it focuses on processes relevant in human ageing and that it is unbiased, making it possible to discover new targets for ageing studies. Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.12819
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs