Negative Correlation Between Chronological Age and NDRG1 Expression in Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs): A Candidate Biomarker for Transcriptional Aging

The identification of robust biomarkers reflecting biological age is crucial for advancing precision medicine. This study investigates the transcriptional fidelity of N-myc downstreamregulated gene 1 (NDRG1) relative to chronological age in a Mesenchymal Stromal Cell (MSC) context, utilizing a cohort of 61 subjects. Analysis of transcriptomic expression data revealed a mean expression of 5.9420 (SD: 0.4918). A significant negative Pearson correlation was observed between NDRG1 expression and age (r = −0.4459, p = 0.0003), indicating a consistent decline in transcript abundance with advancing age. Linear regression modeling quantified this decline with a slope of -0.0127 per year. These findings position NDRG1 as a candidate biomarker for age-related transcriptional dysregulation.