Blood samples from thousands of elderly Icelanders show that certain sets of proteins with coordinated patterns of expression are associated with common complex conditions of aging, researchers report in Science today (August 2).
“This is an amazing paper, for its breadth and scope,” says Nicholas Morton, a specialist in metabolic disorders at the University of Edinburgh who was not involved in the project. “What they’ve been able to do is to use the power of a very deeply phenotyped population together with a comprehensive [serum] proteome analysis . . . to reveal protein networks that can predict metabolic disease and overall survival.”
Proteins and other molecules found in extracellular fluids and blood are mediators of inter-tissue and inter-organ communications and of body-wide homeostatic mechanisms. As a person ages, changes in these proteins and molecules are thought to lead to tissue and organ deterioration and the development of chronic diseases. Such ...
