NIF Data Spotlight: Aging Gene Database

The Aging Genes Database, provided out of the University of Washington, contains information on genes and interventions that have been studied in respect to their effects on life-span or age-related neurological diseases.

A quick overview of the data reveals that approx. 100 records have a life-span extension phenotype and approx. 20 describe a "shortened life-span" effect. Moreover, the top species represented in the Aging Genes DB are the Fly (D. melanogaster), Worm (C. elegans) and Mouse (M. musculus) (shown below). For more information of how to access NIF Data Federation summaries (used to make the graphs below) see our tutorials on NIF REST Services.



We currently index two views on the Aging Genes Database: Genes and Interventions. The genes view targets aging phenotypes of particular genes. For example, to search for the gene encoding Apolipoprotein E we can search for "gene:ApoE" at neuinfo.org;

The Aging Genes Database can be found under Nervous System Level > Genes. Here we discover that ApoE is correlated with higher cholesterol levels, cardiovascular disease and is a risk factor for cognitive impairment under age 85.

Clicking on the Gene Name will open the Aging Genes Database, where you will have to select the gene once more to get additional information.



On this page, we are given summary data for ApoE, with links to Pubmed and NCBI gene.


For more information on the Aging Gene Database, as well as a tutorial to access the Aging Interventions data - see our tutorial here.

 

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The NIF Data Spotlight is a weekly blog post highlighting the databases, information, and resources curated by the Neuroscience Information Framework. For comments, questions or concerns feel free to drop us a line at curation@neuinfo.org.