Normally, antibodies are protective proteins produced by our immune system to fight bacteria or viruses. Their power comes from specificity—when you get sick, the B cells in your immune system undergo an incredibly precise accelerated evolutionary process, quickly optimizing the binding antibodies exactly to whatever is making you unwell without sticking to any of your body’s cells. Antibodies can stop the activity of a lurking germ or mark it for destruction by other parts of the immune system, making antibodies an important defense against disease in the long run. our immune arsenal.
This precise targeting ability also means they’re an attractive tool for use in biology or medicine: You can use them to target anything from infections to cancer. . Once a specific protein or process is identified that is malfunctioning in a disease, much of the time and effort spent on developing a drug is actually finding drugs that respond to that process. you have defined, while affecting other processes as little as possible. This will provide maximum treatment effectiveness, with minimal side effects. So, since our immune system has figured out how to do this, scientists have speculated about putting antibodies to use in clinical applications.
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. There are now hundreds of antibodies used for everything from cancer treatment to surprising everyday tests—pregnancy tests and rapid Covid tests, for example, rely on antibodies.
Today, the latest wave of antibody applications is chasing a bigger prize: the aging process itself. That’s because the biology of aging makes us susceptible to a variety of problems, from diseases like cancer and dementia to weakness, incontinence and gray hair. . Slowing down this process can help us stay healthy for longer – and part of this process is in the crosshairs of antibodies.
In 2021, a research team used antibodies to Instructions for a deadly drug for old, “senescent” cells that eliminate them has been displayed to make mice live longer and healthier. Another paper in 2023 used subtly different drug-carrying antibodies to skin rejuvenation of old mice. An antibody targets a type of age-related protein change for clearance causes genetically modified mice to live longer. And in March 2024, another group reported that antibodies Targets defective bone marrow cells improved response to a vaccine against the (poorly named) Friend virus in middle-aged mice. It would be a beautiful symmetry that the same molecules our bodies use to fight disease could be reused to improve this ability in old age. We also know that these old bone marrow cells can increased risk of leukemia and heart diseaseso further testing may uncover broader benefits.
These are all fascinating proofs of principle, and better skin and immunity with age would be worth having, but could antibodies slow the aging process and make mice or humans longer life? In July 2024, scientists showed that antibodies that target a protein called IL-11 can reduce inflammation in mice and extend their lifespan by 25%—up there with Best anti-aging medicine we know, such as rapamycin. What’s even better is that anti-IL-11 antibodies have been tested in humans, with (very) preliminary results indicates that they are safe.
Greg Winter, winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in isolating and mass-producing specific antibodies, said at a conference in 2020: “I am now old and take many blood pressure medications. . I wish I could get one shot every month or every six months and forget about all the different drug combinations. The year his dream comes true could be 2025.
