A neuronal blood marker is associated with mortality in old age

Stephan A Kaeser^#^{1

2}, Benoit Lehallier^#^{3

4

5}, Mikael Thinggaard^#⁶, Lisa M Häsler^{1

2}, Anja Apel^{1

2}, Carina Bergmann^{1

2}, Daniela Berdnik^{3

4}, Bernard Jeune⁶, Kaare Christensen^{6

7

8}, Sebastian Grönke⁹, Linda Partridge^{9

10}, Tony Wyss-Coray^{11

12

13}, Jonas Mengel-From^{14

15}, Mathias Jucker^{16

17}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cellular Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
² German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany.
³ Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁴ Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁵ Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁶ Danish Aging Research Center, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
⁷ Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
⁸ Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
⁹ Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany.
¹⁰ Institute of Healthy Ageing, Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK.
¹¹ Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. twc@stanford.edu.
¹² Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. twc@stanford.edu.
¹³ Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. twc@stanford.edu.
¹⁴ Danish Aging Research Center, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. jmengel-from@health.sdu.dk.
¹⁵ Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark. jmengel-from@health.sdu.dk.
¹⁶ Department of Cellular Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. mathias.jucker@uni-tuebingen.de.
¹⁷ German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany. mathias.jucker@uni-tuebingen.de.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 37118632
DOI: 10.1038/s43587-021-00028-4

A neuronal blood marker is associated with mortality in old age

Stephan A Kaeser et al. Nat Aging. 2021 Feb.

. 2021 Feb;1(2):218-225.

doi: 10.1038/s43587-021-00028-4. Epub 2021 Feb 11.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cellular Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
² German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany.
³ Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁴ Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁵ Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁶ Danish Aging Research Center, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
⁷ Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
⁸ Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
⁹ Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany.
¹⁰ Institute of Healthy Ageing, Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK.
¹¹ Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. twc@stanford.edu.
¹² Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. twc@stanford.edu.
¹³ Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. twc@stanford.edu.
¹⁴ Danish Aging Research Center, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. jmengel-from@health.sdu.dk.
¹⁵ Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark. jmengel-from@health.sdu.dk.
¹⁶ Department of Cellular Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. mathias.jucker@uni-tuebingen.de.
¹⁷ German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany. mathias.jucker@uni-tuebingen.de.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 37118632
DOI: 10.1038/s43587-021-00028-4

Abstract

Neurofilament light chain (NfL) has emerged as a promising blood biomarker for the progression of various neurological diseases. NfL is a structural protein of nerve cells, and elevated NfL levels in blood are thought to mirror damage to the nervous system. We find that plasma NfL levels increase in humans with age (n = 122; 21-107 years of age) and correlate with changes in other plasma proteins linked to neural pathways. In centenarians (n = 135), plasma NfL levels are associated with mortality equally or better than previously described multi-item scales of cognitive or physical functioning, and this observation was replicated in an independent cohort of nonagenarians (n = 180). Plasma NfL levels also increase in aging mice (n = 114; 2-30 months of age), and dietary restriction, a paradigm that extends lifespan in mice, attenuates the age-related increase in plasma NfL levels. These observations suggest a contribution of nervous system functional deterioration to late-life mortality.

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References

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A neuronal blood marker is associated with mortality in old age

Affiliations

A neuronal blood marker is associated with mortality in old age

Authors

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Abstract

References

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Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical