A new benchmark database of life-extending drugs was recently announced by scientists from the University of Liverpool and the Biogerontology Research Foundation. They have dubbed the database “DrugAge”.
About DrugAge
The DrugAge database has 418 compounds stemming from studies stretching across 27 unique model organisms ranging from flies to worms, yeast and mice. The database is significant as it is the largest of its type in the world at the moment. DrugAge will prove quite helpful in the pending paradigm shift in contemporary healthcare toward geroprotective prevention of multiple diseases and away from the treatment of a single disease. Drug-gene interaction data allowed for a functional enrichment study of the targets of DrugAge’s compounds. This analysis displayed a moderate but statistically meaningful correlation between cell targets of DrugAge’s compounds and the already known genes related to the aging process.
The scientists responsible for the database noted that the vast majority of age-related pathways have not been keyed in on in a pharmacological context. The pharmacological modulation of the aging process has utilized in a limited subset of known age-related pathways. This indicates there is ample scope for pinpointing new life-extending and health-boosting compounds.
Human Aging Genomic Resources
The Human Aging Genomic Resources (HAG) website features an array of helpful resources available at no cost. DrugAge is the latest addition. The site is maintained by the University of Liverpool’s Integrative Genomics of Ageing Group. It is led by Joao Pedro de Magalhaes, a Trustee with the Biogerontology Research Foundation. A number of other scientists across the world also contribute to the site. One of the more notable contributors is Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, the CEO and Chief Science Officer of Insilico Medicine.
HAGR provides access to GenAge, a database consisting of age/longevity-related genes in human beings as well as model organisms. LongevityMap is a HAGR database featuring over 2,000 human genes and variations of genetics relating to longevity. HAGR also features AnAge, a database pertaining to ageing, records of longevity and the histories of more than 4,000 species. GenDR is a HAGR database consisting of genes relating to the life-extending effects or a restricted diet.
DrugAge’s Ease of Use
This informative database is available to the general public for free. It can be searched by species, compound name and the compound’s effect on lifespan. The data can be presented through interactive charts as well as tables. DrugAge also encompasses prior efforts publicized by Magalhaes and Zhavoronkov. This research was made available as an open resource at Geroprotectors.org. All-in-all, DrugAge is the most expansive database of life-extending compounds in existence. It is a landmark resource that will prove invaluable to biogerontologists across posterity.
DrugAge’s Utility
DrugAge has already been used for analytical purposes that have shed light on trends such as the overlap of age-related genes and life-extending drugs. The database has also revealed a strong correlation between life-extending effects of certain compounds between females and males. It also shed light on a correlation between maximum lifespan alterations and the average/median lifespan changes.
As time progresses, scientists will eventually develop a thorough understanding of the comparative effects of geroprotectors on the lifespans of various model organisms. This understanding will bolster research efforts concerning the biology of ageing. It will also serve to demonstrate lifespan plasticity through modulation of specific biomolecular targets to prove to regulators that healthspan extension serves an important role for disease treatment as well as disease prevention.
