A protein called interleukin-11 (IL-11) appears to play a key role in ageing, and scientists have been able to extend the lifespan of mice by up to 25 percent simply by blocking the effects of this molecule.
The team, led by researchers from Duke University and the National University of Singapore (NUS) School of Medicine, used genetic engineering to shut off IL-11 production in a sample of mice, while simultaneously injecting other mice with an anti-IL-11 drug.
Both groups experienced reduced deaths from cancer and tumors, while also experiencing reduced health conditions associated with the effects of aging, such as chronic inflammation and poor metabolism.
“This finding is extremely exciting,” said Stuart Cook, a clinical scientist and cardiologist at the Duke-NUS Medical School.
“The treated mice had less cancer and didn’t show the typical signs of aging and frailty, but they also showed less muscle wasting and better muscle strength. In other words, the old mice that received anti-IL-11 were healthier.”
Interleukin-11 has been of interest to scientists studying the aging process for years, as it has been found to build up in the body as we age, leading to increased inflammation, scar tissue and overall frailty.
In the genetically modified mice, lifespan increased by an average of 24.9 percent. In mice given the drug after 75 weeks of age (about 55 human years), average lifespan increased by 22.5 percent for male mice and 25 percent for female mice. Overall, the average lifespan of these animals was 155 weeks, instead of 120 weeks for the controls.
The researchers say this is probably because blocking IL-11 has different effects in different parts of the body, such as reducing potentially dangerous inflammation and helping organs heal faster after injury.
“In mice, as we age, the activity of the IL-11 gene increases in all tissues,” Cook says. “When this gene is activated, it causes a multimorbidity disorder that is associated with aging and decline throughout the body, from vision to hearing, muscle to hair, and the pumping ability of the heart to the kidneys.”
This latest study checks off many essential boxes not covered in most previous anti-aging studies: it works for both men and women, it promises a healthy longevity, and it has no obvious side effects.
Although human clinical trials are needed to see if the findings here apply to humans, there may be a mechanism by which humans can stay healthy longer and reduce the risk of some diseases associated with ageing.
“Although our study was carried out in mice, studies of human cells and tissues have confirmed similar effects, so we are hopeful that these findings will be highly relevant to human health,” says biologist Anissa Wijaya, from the Duke-NUS School of Medicine.
The research was published in the journal Nature.
