Aging involves maladaptive immune changes, particularly elevated interleukin-11 (IL-11). Mice genetically engineered to lack IL-11 stayed leaner, stronger, and metabolically healthier into old age, suggesting that targeting this inflammatory cytokine could slow age-related decline.
How do you want to die? Do you want to age physically and cognitively fit and functional, or deteriorate into physical fragility and a cognitive haze? I hope the answer is pretty obvious, but I did want you to picture that in your mind because you have a choice. Aging is associated with maladaptive changes in the immune system, including changes in levels of circulating inflammatory molecules. One of these is IL-11. IL-11 is upregulated across tissues and organs with age and activates aging-associated cascades that are known to be activated in older people, older humans. Now, impressively, genetic knockout of interleukin-11, IL-11, leads to improvements in healthspan, many improvements in healthspan. So take a look at these mice. These older mice, they're the same age, 105 weeks old, which is pretty old for mice, but the one on the left lacks IL-11 and as a result is leaner, is stronger, is far less frail, and is overall much metabolically healthier.
