Multiorgan transcriptomics in mice identifies immunoglobulin heavy constant mu (<i>Ighm</i>) as a tissue-level aging biomarker.

Yin, Fan-Qian; Wang, Xia-Yan; Li, Yong-Xuan; Li, Kai-Jing; Ma, Si-Yu; Lv, Meng-Jiao; Liu, Zhen-Hua; Zhong, Wei-Xia et al. · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 2025

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Identifying aging-associated biomarkers applicable for multiple tissues is challenging but crucial for assessing tissue aging. Here, we obtained and analyzed 456 transcriptomes on 17 organs from 30 C57BL/6 J mice with different ages, revealing the consistently upregulated mRNAs of <i>Ighm</i>, <i>C4b</i>, and <i>Ccl8</i> in most aged organs. This finding received support from independent transcriptomic and proteomic datasets and was further validated through western blot, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and immunofluorescence, arguing for both <i>Ighm</i> mRNA and protein as tissue-level aging biomarkers, at least in mice. Its sensitivity to antiaging interventions further emphasizes the significance of <i>Ighm</i> in assessing tissue aging in mice.

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