Lifespan-Associated Gene Expression Signatures of Recombinant BXD Mice Implicates Coro7 and Set in Longevity

Abstract

Although genetic approaches have identified key genes and pathways that promote longevity, systems-level approaches are less utilized. Here, we took advantage of the wealth of omics data characterizing the BXD family of mice. We associated transcript and peptide levels across five tissues from both female and male BXD isogenic lines with their median lifespan. We identified over 5000 genes that showed a longevity correlation in a given tissue. Surprisingly, we found less than 1% overlap among longevity-correlating genes across tissues and sex. These 1% shared genes consist of 51 genes, of which 13 have been shown to alter lifespan. Only two genes -Coro7 and Set- showed a longevity correlation in all tissues and in both sexes. While differential regulation of aging across tissues and sex has been reported, our systems-level analysis reveals two unique genes that may promote healthy aging in unique sex- and tissue-agnostic manner.

Keywords: BXD mice; SET; coronin; gender-specific lifespan; healthy aging; longevity; omics.