Neurofilament light chain may serve as a cross-species blood biomarker to assess aging and predict mortality

Carina Bergmann, Lisa M Häsler, Marius Lambert, Stephan A Kaeser, Stephanie A Schultz, Barbara Riond, Marco Weiss, Martina Balz, Tobias Knauf-Witzens and Mathias Jucker

PLOS Biology, 2026, vol. 24, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: 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.Blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) increase with age in healthy humans and can predict all-cause human mortality, but is this true across species? This study shows that NfL age-related blood levels are comparable across mice, cats, dogs and horses, and may serve as a cross-species biomarker for assessing aging interventions and mortality prediction.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pbio00:3003606

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003606

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