Antibodies are normally protective proteins produced by the immune system to fight bacteria and viruses. Its strength comes from its specificity. When you get sick, the immune system’s B cells go through a highly precise accelerated evolution process to quickly optimize antibodies that bind exactly to what’s causing your illness, without attaching to your body’s own cells. . Antibodies are an important defense against disease in our immune arsenal because they can block invading bacteria or mark them for destruction by other parts of the immune system.
This precise targeting ability also means that they are attractive tools for use in biology and medicine. These can be used to target everything from infectious diseases to cancer. After identifying a specific protein or process that goes wrong in a disease, much of the time and effort spent in drug development is actually focused on finding a drug that fits the identified process while having as few other effects as possible. there is. This provides maximum therapeutic efficacy while minimizing side effects. Therefore, scientists are speculating about using antibodies in clinical applications, since our immune system has already found a way to do this.
The first antibody approved for medical use was muromonab CD3 in 1986, designed (ironically) to suppress the immune system and prevent organ rejection in transplant patients. Hundreds of antibodies are currently being used in everything from cancer treatment to surprisingly everyday applications, such as pregnancy tests and rapid coronavirus tests, which rely on antibodies.
Today, the latest wave of antibody applications is eyeing an even bigger prize: the aging process itself. That’s because the biology of aging makes us more susceptible to a variety of problems, from diseases like cancer and dementia to frailty, incontinence, and gray hair. Slowing down this process could keep us all healthy for longer, and some of that is within the scope of antibodies.
In 2021, the research group will use antibodies to introduce powerful drugs Eliminating senescent, “senescent” cells has been shown to help mice live longer and healthier lives. Another paper from 2023 used antibodies with slightly different drugs. rejuvenate the skin Of old mice. Cleanup antibody targeting a type of protein modification associated with aging Made genetically modified mice live longer. Then, in March 2024, another group developed antibodies. Targeting defective bone marrow cells Mice in late middle age had an improved response to a vaccine against Friend virus (very badly named). It would be a beautiful symmetry that the very molecules our bodies use to fight disease could be repurposed to improve this ability in old age. Also, these old bone marrow cells Increases risk of blood cancer and heart diseaseTherefore, further testing may reveal a broader range of benefits.
These are all interesting proofs of principle, and it’s valuable that skin and immunity improve with age, but can antibodies slow aging and actually make mice and humans live longer? In July 2024, scientists showed that: Antibodies that target a protein called IL-11 It reduces inflammation in mice and may extend their lifespan by 25%. best anti-aging medicine We know things like rapamycin. Even better, anti-IL-11 antibodies are already in human clinical trials. (Very) preliminary results It shows they are safe.
Greg Winter, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2018 for his work on isolating and mass producing specific antibodies, said at the 2020 conference: I wish I could get injections once a month or once every six months and forget about all the different combinations of pills. ”His dream may come true in 2025.
