Scientists discover switching off inflammatory protein leads to longer, healthier lifespans in mice

Credit: MRC Laboratory of Medical Science Scientists at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Medical Science and Imperial College London have discovered that ‘switching off’ a protein called IL-11 can significantly increase the healthy lifespan of mice by almost 25%. The scientists, working with colleagues at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, tested the effects of IL-11 by creating mice that had the gene producing IL-11 (interleukin 11) deleted. This extended the lives of the mice by over 20% on average. They also treated 75-week-old mice—equivalent to the age of about 55 years in humans—with an injection of an anti-IL-11 antibody, Read More