Blocking the Inflammatory Cytokine IL-11 Extends Median Lifespan of Old Mice by 22-25%

Blocking interleukin-11 (IL-11), an inflammatory cytokine in the IL-6 family, extended both healthspan and lifespan in mice. The results were reported in Nature by researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore and the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences in the United Kingdom.

IL-11 Rises With Age

The researchers found that as mice age, IL-11 increases in many tissues and cells, and that it takes part in aging pathology by regulating the ERK-AMPK-mTORC1 signaling axis. Mice lacking the Il11 gene or its receptor gene (Il11ra1) were protected from metabolic decline, multiple diseases and frailty in old age. The lifespan of Il11-deleted mice was 24.9% longer on average across males and females.

In the drug intervention experiment, an antibody that neutralizes IL-11 was given to 75-week-old mice. After 25 weeks of treatment, metabolic and muscle function improved, and aging biomarkers and frailty scores fell. In the group that kept receiving the antibody until death, median lifespan was extended by 22.5% in males and 25% in females. The result is in line with senomorphic strategies, which suppress inflammation to ease the aging phenotype.

Anti-IL-11 antibodies are in early clinical trials for fibrotic lung disease, so the researchers explain that there is a route to test their effects in older people. However, all results come from mouse experiments, and some of the authors hold related patents and equity in a company.