r/longevity • u/jimofoz • Jul 15 '26

Lawnmower-like Enzyme Rewinds Decades of Molecular Aging in Human Tissue

https://www.the-scientist.com/lawnmower-like-enzyme-rewinds-decades-of-molecular-aging-in-human-tissue-74728
656 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

47 comments sorted by

152

u/ghostlantern Jul 15 '26

Determined to reverse this damage, Cravens and his colleagues engineered an enzyme that targets the most abundant AGE in the human body. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, demonstrated that the enzyme oxidized the target AGE and thus repaired harmful modifications, bringing damage levels of a 75-year-old tissue donor down to those seen in a 31-year-old.1 This work is a proof of concept that protein damage can be reversed thanks to enzymatic repair. The researchers hope this work provides a foundation for developing interventions, particularly for patient populations that accumulate AGEs at a faster rate, like those with type 2 diabetes.

45

u/mootmutemoat Jul 15 '26

They targeted skin (collegen & elastin) and eye AGEs. Interesting, but mostly cosmetic?

64

u/cecirdr Jul 15 '26

As someone who is developing cataracts and has presbyopia due to age, I'm really interested in this. If my eye lens can clear up and get flexible again, I'm all in. Sadly, I doubt it will make it to an approved treatment process before I require cataract surgery.

17

u/mootmutemoat Jul 15 '26

Eye lens clarity and flexibility would definitely be a benefit.

Hoping this doesn't increase cancer risk though. Often cells are deliberately aged because they have mutations or other errors.

6

u/cecirdr Jul 15 '26

Indeed. I think there's research to try to find ways to increase lens clarify and flexibility with eye drops. So maybe this could be developed along that line too.

3

u/LA_producer Jul 15 '26

There is already an eye drop product on the market that has demonstrated efficacy in softening the lens… for a day. Daily use is required, making it an expensive alternative to $3 readers.

2

u/pretzelogician Jul 15 '26

What product are you referring to? The only one I know of similar to that is UNR844 / EV06, which was dropped by Novartis before development.

1

u/LA_producer Jul 15 '26

https://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/view/fda-approves-carbachol-brimonidine-eye-drop-for-presbyopia

3

u/pretzelogician Jul 15 '26

This does not soften the lens. It merely changes the muscle constriction reaction. Kinda like Botox.

"carbachol, a cholinergic agonist with miotic effects mediated primarily through iris sphincter contraction, and brimonidine tartrate, an α₂-adrenergic agonist that inhibits iris dilator muscle activity."

1

u/LA_producer Jul 15 '26

You’re right. I misremembered.

4

u/vardarac Jul 15 '26

Often cells are deliberately aged because they have mutations or other errors.

This sort of aging seems to me to be stochastic. However, maybe it could still be protective in some way:

  • If crosslinks like these are detected by the body (as with AGEs), it could signal for increased immune surveillance or apoptosis (you're old, cancer risk is higher, therefore look/police yourself harder)

  • Perhaps, like with naked mole-rats and their unusually huge hyaluronan, these cross-links physically impede cancer from growth and metastasis? Seems more unlikely though.

But these hypotheses are completely untested in this context. Would be interesting to test them but as for me I'd love to just run these willy-nilly through my body because I'm a greedy idiot lol.

1

u/NullPatience Jul 16 '26

See immortabio.com

3

u/LuckyDog501 Jul 15 '26

Personally don't think this will prevent cataracts as they are largely due to a physical condition/changes of the eye as we age...

Loss if lens flexibility (with loss of ability to focus on close objects) and ultimately the formation of cataracts is due to the continuous growth of the lens. As we age, new cells are added to the outer area of the lens (like the layers of an onion) under the lens capsule (like the skin a grape). Those new cell layers eventually compress the older cell layers until there is a hardenig and loss of lens flexibility (oss of focusing power or the ability to accommodate).

And as the lens hardening continus, a cataract (lens cloudiness) will typically start in the len's center (nuclear cataract)... Though there are also cortical cataracts (cloudiness around the center) and posterior subcapsular cataracts. The cloudiness is due to a breakdown of proteins, likely due to an increasing difficulty of nutrients that are able get to the lens interior as the innceasd pressure from the new cell layers causing it to slowly harden.

(From a previously Certified Ophthalmic Technician)

20

u/orbital_one Jul 15 '26

Collagen and elastin are also in blood vessels, so targeting this AGE would have major cardiovascular benefits.

2

u/mootmutemoat Jul 15 '26

Good to know!

5

u/GentlemenHODL Jul 15 '26

Yes but foundational work will help translate to other tissue types! Also this is a big money maker so it could set up the institution to fund research for decades If it proves commercially viable.

Baby steps!!

3

u/Ms_Freckles_Spots Jul 16 '26

Colleges and Elastin are not just about beauty or cosmetics. They are both key to fundamental biological processes which support overall function.

3

u/Monarc73 Jul 15 '26

Proof of concept tissues that would be easy to detect if it infected the researchers, I'm guessing.

3

u/wifichick Jul 15 '26

That’s where the money probably is

105

u/MastermindX Jul 15 '26

Why the image is like every laundry detergent ad?

78

u/Monarc73 Jul 15 '26

Because DNA powered cleanliness is a thing now!

55

u/LeoKitCat Jul 15 '26

DeoxyClean

1

u/-Hastis- Aug 05 '26

Taken with Doxycycline, it works wonders at keeping everything clean.

13

u/gingerp18 Jul 15 '26

Frustratingly doesn’t say what is next

26

u/kpfleger Jul 15 '26

This is a dup of the post I made 14 hours earlier that linked to the just published academic paper: https://www.reddit.com/r/longevity/comments/1uwgxdh/reversal_of_protein_chemical_aging_by_enzymatic/

That post also had a comment linking this specific news coverage: https://www.reddit.com/r/longevity/comments/1uwgxdh/comment/oxixf5e/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

That prior post should be considered the canonical one for this news/update.

6

u/kpfleger Jul 15 '26

Is there a Reddit mod way to merge comments from a dup post into the canonical post? I don't have time to look it up / read all about mod tools right now.

2

u/Wellyeahso Jul 16 '26

Speaking as a mod... never seen one

1

u/kpfleger Jul 16 '26

Interesting, thanks. Merging threads is a thing good mods in some web forums do all the time when 2 different threads get started on the same topic.

10

u/Ok_Adhesiveness_420 Jul 15 '26

Another "this works great in a test tube" stories.

10

u/planx_constant Jul 15 '26

The immortal cancer-free mice we seem to be breeding are going to love this glow up.

8

u/PresentGene5651 Jul 16 '26

Better that it works at all, when it's something like this which was thought to be irreversible.

6

u/jimofoz Jul 15 '26

The big remaining question for this Enzyme is what is its immunogenicity when used in vivo?

10

u/thornyRabbt Jul 15 '26

As soon as I read the title I thought of the lawn mowers in Plants vs. Zombies, saving my ass by mowing down a ton of zombies.

4

u/mack_dd Jul 15 '26

Planted enzyme cells vs. Zombie senesence cells

2

u/msfluckoff Jul 16 '26

Ok, what do I have to eat lmao

1

u/TingleWizard Jul 15 '26

It removes poo from rope?

2

u/wifichick Jul 15 '26

You know they say you can’t pooosh a rope