ESM-2 transformer analysis of 3,977 proteins from the New England Centenarian Study. 33 proteins significantly elevated in centenarians (adj p<0.05), cross-validated against Wang et al. organ aging clocks across three independent cohorts (UKB, CKB, NHS).
26 of 33 centenarian-elevated proteins absent from all Wang organ aging clocks
21%
Overlapping with clocks
7 proteins present in Wang clocks — consistent across UKB, CKB, and NHS cohorts
3×
Cohort validation
Overlap pattern identical across UKB (n=43,616), CKB (n=3,977), and NHS (n=800)
Our data · GravitateBio 2025
33 centenarian-elevated proteins vs. Wang organ aging clocks
log₂ fold change (NECS; negative = higher in centenarians) · click a protein for detail
Novel to aging biology (n=26)Present in Wang organ clocks (n=7)Lead exosome cargo larger = more significant
Source · NECS proteomics (GravitateBio, 2025); Wang et al., Nat Aging 2025, doi:10.1038/s43587-025-01016-8.
ADIPOQ
Adiponectin
Novel to aging biologyLead exosome cargo
-0.84
log₂ fold change (higher in centenarians)
p < 10⁻⁶
adjusted significance
Metabolic regulation · anti-inflammatory
A lead exosome-cargo candidate. Activates AMPK and suppresses mTOR, restoring metabolic and inflammatory balance — the first arm of the putative tumour-apoptosis mechanism.
The Wang organ aging clock proteins represent the established view of what changes with age. The 26 novel centenarian proteins sit outside this landscape — they are enriched in people who reached 100, but don't appear in population-level aging signatures.
This suggests centenarian longevity is not merely a suppression of normal aging, but involves distinct biological processes — making these proteins high-value targets for therapeutic exosome cargo.
Methods. Proteomics data from the New England Centenarian Study (3,977 proteins). Differential expression analysis identified 33 proteins significantly elevated in centenarians (adj p<0.05). ESM-2 transformer embeddings (1,280-dimensional) applied for protein characterisation. Cross-validated against 418 Wang et al. organ aging clock proteins (UKB cohort, Olink Explore 3072). Overlap tested against UKB (n=43,616), CKB (n=3,977), and NHS (n=800) independently — all three cohorts produce identical overlap of 7/33 proteins. Source: Wang et al., Nat Aging (2025), doi:10.1038/s43587-025-01016-8.
Protein Atlas
Centenarian Proteome Atlas
Interactive exploration of all 33 centenarian-elevated proteins — functional categories, fold changes, significance, and pathway assignments.