New Delhi: Accoridng to a new study, blocking a certain protein in middle-aged mice can work wonders to extend their lifespan and improve health. The study’s findings, published in Nature journal on July 17, found the same and this has raised concerns on whether the same can work in humans. The protein, known as IL-11, promote inflammation and is one of the key factors responsible for ageing. Experts discovered that blocking it in middle-aged mice can boost their metabolism and reduce frailty and increase lifespan by 25%. This, along with interleukins, plays a key role in immunity and it is present in both humans and mice.
Experts from the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Medical Science (MRC LMS), Imperial College London, and Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore explained the same and said that the protein’s activity increases with age. And when it is turned on, loss of function and age-related diseases are triggered all over the body. These include loss of vision to weak hearing power to loss of hair and muscle and poor heart and kidney function. And the link between IL-11 and ageing was discovered accidentally.
How does IL-11 contribute to ageing?
The association between IL-11 and ageing was discovered accidentally when researchers noted high levels of it in older mice as compared to the younger ones. Experts then investigated the same further and found that IL-11 levels were consistently high in older mice, along with fat and liver tissue. And when the same protein was deleted, they had better lifespan than the rest. These mice lived 25% longer and had better health as well.
It was found that treating mice with this protein helped increase their median lifespan by 22.4% in male mice and 25% in female mice. The treatment could also help reduce the risk of death due to age-related diseases like chronic inflammation, fibrosis and poor metabolism. And although the research has been thus far limited to mice, humans are also likely to benefit due to molecular similarities.
Earlier, too, drugs were introduced in the same area with a similar purpose and it was found that rapamycin could improve lifespan but not health in general. But to be on the safer side, experts stress the need for managing age-related complications like loss of muscle mass to counteract the health effects of ageing in a long run.
Experts discovered that blocking IL-11 in middle-aged mice can boost their metabolism and reduce frailty and increase lifespan by 25%. This, along with interleukins, plays a key role in immunity and it is present in both humans and mice. Health News Health News: Latest News from Health Care, Mental Health, Weight Loss, Disease, Nutrition, Healthcare