A killifish R&D platform for therapies improving healthy brain aging

The treatment gap for age-related brain diseases presents a formidable research and health care challenge for the 21st century. To respond to this urgent need, novel models and approaches that focus on the ‘age-related’ aspect are greatly needed. The KillAge consortium combines profound expertise in different aspects of neurophysiological research using diverse animal models and was formed in order to generate a killifish (N. furzeri) platform for aging neurobiology. Killifish is the shortest-living vertebrate and –in contrast to other vertebrate animal models– displays all typical aging hallmarks, including reduced regenerative capacity and spontaneous neurodegeneration. KillAge will establish a preclinical platform with validated assays and disease-related (genetic) models for drug discovery and target validation in the killifish with the aim to propel research into therapies that promote healthy brain aging.

Keywords:neuroregeneration, drug discovery, killifish, aging, central nervous system

Disciplines:Neurosciences not elsewhere classified, Biogerontology, Neurological and neuromuscular diseases