Differential gene expression analysis, contrasting young and old subjects, does not produce a reliable biomarker signature of age.

Several attempts have been to define a set of genes that differ in skeletal muscle between young and old human subjects. We re-analysed three of the most robust and largest human studies with common methods, including our new study, and contrasted the genes identified to be differentially regulated using SAM analysis and Gene Ontology analysis. No common pattern of differential gene expression could be found using this analysis method indicating that no prior gene signature for muscle ageing can be considered a reliable marker of muscle age in humans. Gene ontology analysis found that both the Trappe and Melov data sets had modest enrichment in mitochondrial genes, which were down-regulated with age however this was not true for the DRET study and both Melov and Trappe data-sets had elderly with much lower physical fitness levels making it impossible to attribute these changes to age per se with differential expression analysis.