Breakthrough new drug could increase life expectancy by 30%

One day, protecting our cells from aging will be as easy as taking a pill. (CREDIT: Shutterstock)

Scientists may never find the elixir of life, but they are looking for new ways to extend our lives. One day, protecting our cells from aging will be as easy as taking a pill. Mayo Clinic researchers say senolytic drugs can increase levels of a key protein in the body that may protect older adults from aspects of aging and a range of diseases. Their results, published in eBioMedicine, demonstrate this in mice and humans.

Senolytics, developed at the Mayo Clinic, cleanse the bloodstream of senescent or “zombie” cells once. These cells contribute to multiple diseases and the negative aspects of aging. This study shows that removing senescent cells significantly increases the production of a protective protein called a-clotho.

What are zombie cells?

Zombie cells (called aging cells in the scientific community) are the cells in your body that “refuse to die.”

The cell usually starts as normal, doing its job of supporting the body. It may then suffer from some sort of stress – be it oxidative stress, a viral infection, or another factor. This stress causes the cell to do one of three things: repair itself, die, or become a zombie cell.

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Zombie cells aren’t that bad. A 2017 study shows that cellular senescence (the transformation of normal cells into zombie cells) is a beneficial response to tumor growth. Instead of multiplying uncontrollably and contributing to the formation of a tumor, the cell will become a zombie and stop growing.

However, zombie cells in other contexts have negative consequences. With age, these zombies accumulate in the body. They can make it difficult for your body’s tissues to repair and can release chemicals that harm normal cells nearby. In fact, research has linked zombie cells to a number of age-related diseases, including atherosclerosis (a form of heart disease), diabetes, and lung disease.

Exposure to senolytics

Senolytics (or senolytic drugs) are a special class of drugs that help destroy zombie cells. “We are showing that there is a possibility for orally active small molecule approaches to increase this beneficial protein as well as enhance the effects of senolytic drugs,” says James Kirkland, MD, internist and senior physician at the Mayo Clinic. author of the study.

Graphic abstract of Senolytics. (CREDIT: Mayo Clinic)

Researchers have shown for the first time that senescent cells reduce a-klotho levels in three human cell types: umbilical vein endothelial cells, kidney cells and brain cells.

They also demonstrated that the use of the senolytics deatinib and quercetin increased a-klotho levels in three types of mice. And then, after administering desatinib plus quercetin to clinical trial participants with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, this a-klotho value also increased.

“We are also the first to link the potential impact of senescent fat-dwelling cells on brain a-cloth,” says Yi Zhu, Ph.D., physiologist and biomedical engineer at the Mayo Clinic, and first author of the study. “This may open another avenue to study the influence of peripheral senescent cells on brain aging.”

The a-klotho protein is important for maintaining good health, as it tends to decrease with age, especially in multiple diseases, including Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and kidney disease.

Animal studies have shown that reducing a-klotho in mice shortens lifespan, while increasing a-klotho in mice by inserting a gene that causes it to be produced increases lifespan by 30%.

Finding ways to increase a-clotho in humans has been a major goal of research, but this has been difficult due to its size and instability. It is problematic to inject it directly, as it will have to be injected into a vein, and not through the mouth.

This study shows that oral senolytics increase a-klotho in people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an age-related disease that leads to weakness, severe breathing difficulties, and death.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Gerology Translational Network, Robert and Arlene Kogod, the Connor Group, Robert J. and Teresa W. Ryan, and the Noaber Foundation.

Where can you buy senolytic drugs?

The senolytic dasatinib is not available without a prescription. But quercetin is available in supplement form.

You can also increase your quercetin intake by eating more onions, apples (with the skin!), citrus fruits, and parsley. It doesn’t hurt, and these delicious foods are easy to find at the grocery store or local farmers’ market.

For more science news, visit our New Discoveries section at The bright side of the news.

Note. Materials provided by Mayo Clinic. Content can be edited for style and length.

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