Lexicon
Proteomic Aging Clock
Also known as Proteomic clock, Organ age
Definition
A proteomic aging clock is a biological-age estimator built from the proteomic composition of blood, using selected circulating proteins as markers of aging. [1] It draws on the human plasma proteome, the study of proteins circulating in blood, which offers opportunities to diagnose, stratify or possibly prevent diseases and has been applied to the study of aging. [2] A systematic review of proteomic markers of aging and longevity found, for the first time, that proteins associated with systemic disorders, including some approved by the FDA for clinical use, could serve as potential markers of aging. [1]
How it works
The plasma proteome reflects the state of the body because it comprises proteins secreted or lost from cells as they respond to their local environment, so that changes in its composition give a relatively non-invasive report on the health of tissues. [3] In a proteomic clock the proteins selected as aging markers are especially notable for their roles in inflammatory processes and lipid metabolism. [1] Proteins represent intermediate phenotypes for disease, providing insight into how genetic and non-genetic risk factors are mechanistically linked to clinical outcomes, which underpins the use of protein panels to read out biological state. [4]
Connected concepts
How it's measured
Plasma proteins are profiled using mass-spectrometry (MS)-based or affinity-based methods, which enable comprehensive, scalable profiling of the plasma proteome. [2] [5] A central technical obstacle is the dynamic range problem: in plasma, a few proteins such as albumin and immunoglobulins are present at milligrams per millilitre while candidate biomarkers may be present at micrograms to picograms per millilitre, with more than 10 orders of magnitude in concentration separating albumin and the rarest proteins measured clinically. [6] [7] Modern MS-based proteomics can now characterise the plasma proteome in great depth, and a proposed profiling strategy correlates the proteome patterns of large cohorts with their phenotypes in health and disease. [8]
What levels mean
The proteomic aging clock is a research tool rather than a fixed diagnostic scale: the systematic review proposes its protein list as a basis for creating a panel and quantifying selected proteins, and does not define universal reference bands.
Community knowledge
## Organ-Specific And Brain Clocks
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- 1.Kliuchnikova AA, Ilgisonis EV, Archakov AI, Ponomarenko EA, Moskalev AA. Proteomic Markers of Aging and Longevity: A Systematic Review. Int J Mol Sci · 2024
- 2.Deutsch EW, Omenn GS, Sun Z, Maes M, Pernemalm M, Palaniappan KK, Letunica N, Vandenbrouck Y. Advances and Utility of the Human Plasma Proteome. J Proteome Res · 2021
- 3.Wilkins M. Pulmonary hypertension: Proteins in the blood. Glob Cardiol Sci Pract · 2020
- 4.Suhre K, McCarthy MI, Schwenk JM. Genetics meets proteomics: perspectives for large population-based studies. Nat Rev Genet · 2021
- 5.Zanini JC, Pietzner M, Langenberg C. Integrating Genetics and the Plasma Proteome to Predict the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Curr Diab Rep · 2020
- 6.Smalley DM, Ley K. Plasma-derived microparticles for biomarker discovery.
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