Meet the 'Supermodel Granny' drug that could extend your lifespan
What's the story
Researchers at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Medical Science, Imperial College London, and Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore have developed a drug that extends the lifespan of mice by 25%. The treated mice, dubbed "supermodel grannies" for their youthful appearance, lived an average of 155 weeks compared to 120 weeks for their untreated counterparts. The scientists found that inhibiting a protein called IL-11 (interleukin-11) increased their lifespan. This breakthrough raises the possibility of similar effects in humans.
Protein inhibition
IL-11 protein inhibition linked to extended lifespan
In humans, levels of the protein IL-11 increase with age and have been associated with conditions related to aging such as chronic inflammation, metabolism disorders, muscle wasting, and frailty. The researchers created mice that had the gene-producing IL-11 deleted, which resulted in an average lifespan extension of over 20%. Additionally, 75-week-old mice, equivalent to a 55-year-old human, were treated with an anti-IL-11 antibody injection that halted the effects of IL-11 in their bodies.
Treatment results
Anti-IL-11 treatment increases lifespan in mice
According to the study, published in Nature, the average lifespan of mice treated with an anti-IL-11 antibody increased by 22.4% in males and 25% in females. Professor Stuart Cook, co-corresponding author of the study, stated that these findings were "very exciting." He noted that the treated mice had fewer cancers and showed no usual signs of aging or frailty. In his words, "the old mice receiving anti-IL-11 were healthier."
Human implications
Potential relevance of findings to human health
Assistant Professor Anissa Widjaja from Duke-NUS Medical School stated, "Although our work was done in mice, we hope that these findings will be highly relevant to human health." She added that the research is an important step toward better understanding aging and could potentially extend healthy aging by reducing frailty and physiological manifestations of aging. The drug, a manufactured antibody targeting IL-11, is currently being trialed in patients with lung fibrosis.