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Aging

Investigating trajectories of aging using high-dimensional phenotyping in mice

Lab Animal volume 52, pages 61–62 (2023)Cite this article

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Despite centuries of effort from philosophers, physicians and biologists, the answer to the seemingly simple question “what is aging?” remains elusive. Some even posit that aging represents a phenomenon too expansive to ever be succinctly defined. A new study tackles this question by profiling hundreds of phenotypes across age in mice and examining how the trajectories of these phenotypes are altered by geroprotective genetic and dietary interventions.

The quest for a unified definition of aging is a critical goal in the geroscience field. Although unifying frameworks like the “Hallmarks of Aging” and “Pillars of Aging” have substantially advanced our understanding of age-associated molecular changes, important questions remain about causality and generalizability across species. Aging is an exceptionally complex process and we are thus limited by both what we can measure and what we choose to measure in the lab. As high-dimensional methods become more accessible, the application of big data techniques will be critical in generating a common definition of aging.

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Fig. 1: Models of age-sensitive phenotype (ASP) responses to geroprotective interventions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Michael R. MacArthur & Sarah J. Mitchell

  2. Ludwig Princeton Branch, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Sarah J. Mitchell

Authors
  1. Michael R. MacArthur
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  2. Sarah J. Mitchell
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Correspondence to Sarah J. Mitchell.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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MacArthur, M.R., Mitchell, S.J. Investigating trajectories of aging using high-dimensional phenotyping in mice. Lab Anim 52, 61–62 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-023-01122-3

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