Scientists have created a drug, which increased lifespan of mice by 25 percent, raising expectations that it will have similar effect in humans.
Scientists at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Medical Science and Imperial College London conducted the study on mice, who were known as ‘supermodel grannies’ in the lab because of their beautiful appearance.
First and co-corresponding author Assistant Professor Anissa Widjaja said, ‘This project started back in 2017 when a collaborator of ours sent us some tissue samples for another project. Out of curiosity, I ran some experiments to check for IL-11 levels. From the readings, we could clearly see that the levels of IL-11 increased with age and that’s when we got really excited.’
During the study, the researchers found that switching off IL-11 increased the healthy lifespan of mice. The protein is responsible for ageing, muscle wasting, chronic inflammation, and metabolism disorder in human.
Professor Stuart Cook, who was a co-corresponding author of the study, said, ‘The treated mice had fewer cancers, and were free from the usual signs of ageing and frailty, but we also saw reduced muscle wasting and improvement in muscle strength.
‘In other words, the old mice receiving anti-IL-11 were healthier,’ Cook continued.
The findings, published in the journal Nature, showed increase in lifespans of mice depending on the experiment and sex of the mice.
‘Our aim is that one day, anti-IL-11 therapy will be used as widely as possible, so that people the world over can lead healthier lives for longer. However, this is not easy, as approval pathways for drugs to treat aging are not well-defined, and raising funds to do clinical trials in this area is very challenging,’ Cook added.
