Anti-aging breakthrough: scientists extend mouse lifespan by 20 percent

Researchers have found a way to extend the healthy life of mice. The researchers found a way to turn off a certain pro-inflammatory protein, which extended the life of mice by twenty percent. Age-related diseases were also reduced. The researchers from Duke Medical School in Singapore and Imperial College London in the United Kingdom published their findings in the journal Nature.

Interleukin 11, or IL-11, is a pro-inflammatory protein found in both mice and humans. The level of IL-11 increases with age, and rising levels of this protein contribute to negative effects in the body. This includes inflammation, impaired recovery ability and preventing organs from healing after injury.

Research

The scientists conducted an experiment with the aim of finding out whether the production of IL-11 could be inhibited. First, the scientists studied genetically modified mice. These mice lacked the gene for IL-11 production, so the protein could not be produced. The scientists found that these mice lived twenty percent longer than normal mice.

The scientists then studied mice that had not been genetically modified. They injected 75-week-old mice with an anti-IL-11 antibody. This antibody blocked the activity of IL-11 in the body. As a result, the mice also lived twenty percent longer and suffered less from age-related diseases.

The scientists found that the female mice lived the longest. Their lifespan was extended by twenty-five percent, while the lifespan of male mice was extended by 22.4 percent. In addition, it seems that this drug that extends life has no negative side effects, while drugs that were previously recommended.

Application for people

More research is needed to determine whether this drug can be transferred to humans as well, the researchers say. However, similar effects have already been observed in studies on human cells and tissues, according to a statement about the research. If the drug is transferred to humans, it would reduce weakness and physical signs of old age, the scientists believe.

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