%0 Journal Article
%A Bergmann, Carina
%A Häsler, Lisa M
%A Lambert, Marius
%A Kaeser, Stephan A
%A Schultz, Stephanie A
%A Riond, Barbara
%A Weiss, Marco
%A Balz, Martina
%A Knauf-Witzens, Tobias
%A Jucker, Mathias
%T Neurofilament light chain may serve as a cross-species blood biomarker to assess aging and predict mortality.
%J PLoS biology
%V 24
%N 2
%@ 1544-9173
%C Lawrence, KS
%I PLoS
%M DZNE-2026-00210
%P e3003606
%D 2026
%X Blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) increase with age in healthy humans and have been shown to predict all-cause human mortality. To determine whether this relationship is conserved across species, we analyzed NfL in the blood of various animals. We observed age-related increases in NfL levels comparable to those seen in humans in mice, cats, dogs and horses. Longitudinal analysis of NfL trajectories in aged mice demonstrated that a faster rate of NfL increase predicts mortality. When comparing baseline NfL levels across 13 species, we found that those with lower baseline NfL levels tended to have longer lifespans; however, the collinearity between body size and life span complicates the interpretation of this finding. NfL was also robustly detected in blood of 39 additional mammalian species, as well as a few reptiles and birds, consistent with a conserved amino acid sequence of the NfL fragment in blood. Given the growing interest in NfL as a biomarker for neurological health and mortality in humans, our findings suggest that NfL may serve as a cross-species blood biomarker for assessing aging interventions and predicting mortality.
%K Neurofilament Proteins: blood
%K Animals
%K Biomarkers: blood
%K Aging: blood
%K Humans
%K Mice
%K Dogs
%K Male
%K Cats
%K Female
%K Longevity
%K Species Specificity
%K Horses
%K Neurofilament Proteins (NLM Chemicals)
%K Biomarkers (NLM Chemicals)
%K neurofilament protein L (NLM Chemicals)
%F PUB:(DE-HGF)16
%9 Journal Article
%$ pmid:41712539
%R 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003606
%U https://pub.dzne.de/record/285268