HealthAge: evaluation of intrinsic capacity changes in humans, mice, and killifish to explore the biology of aging

Abstract

HealthAge was devised by a conglomerate of research groups in Toulouse, France, with the combined goal of narrowing the lifespan-healthspan gap through novel translational bench-to-bedside research studies. HealthAge comprises the “INStitute for Prevention” “healthy aging” and “medicine Rejuvenative” (INSPIRE) human translational, outbred SWISS mice and African turquoise killifish (GRZ strain) cohorts in which aging is studied based on the concept of intrinsic capacity (IC). In this narrative review, we describe the three INSPIRE aging models (human cohort, n = 1109, age range 20 –102 years old with mean age ± standard deviation, 62.4 ± 19.0 years and 61.9% female; outbred SWISS mice, n = 1576 and African Turquoise killifish, n = 300) and explain how IC is assessed at the clinical (in humans) and biological level over time. HealthAge strives to elucidate the underlying biology of IC and to identify biomarkers of IC declines and novel gero-therapeutics using the clinical and biological data and biospecimens collected prospectively in the three species. The data sharing policy will foster scientific discovery through new multi-disciplinary collaborations. Thus, HealthAge will promote healthy aging using a unique translational platform based on IC phenotyping with the ultimate goal of preventing loss of human independence and alleviating health costs associated with an aging population.