Scientists Stumble Onto Secret of Skin Aging

 Aging  

Scientists looking at the effects of an enzyme on heart attacks may have serendipitously discovered a new way to treat sun-related aging of the skin.

University of British Columbia researchers were initially searching for ways to slow the deterioration of blood vessels but they may have stumbled on to the key to youthful skin.

While examining the effects of the protein-degrading enzyme Granzyme B on blood vessels during heart attacks, professor David Granville noticed that mice engineered to lack the enzyme had beautiful skin at the end of the experiment, while normal mice showed wrinkles and other signs of age.

“This is one of those moments that we live for in science,” Granville, told Global News.

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The researchers published the findings in the journal Aging Cell. The work  raises hope for a drug that would block the activity of Granzyme B in certain places, and thus prevent the aging and deterioration of tissues that depend on collagen – not just skin, but blood vessels and lung passages.

“We were interested in the effects of aging on blood vessels; we had no idea (the absence of this enzyme) would have any effect on their skin.”

The discovery pushed Granville’s research in an unexpected new direction.

Rodent tanning salon
Image Source -Brian Kladko, UBC Faculty of Medicine

The researchers built a mechanized rodent tanning salon and exposed mice engineered to lack the enzyme and normal mice to UV light three times a week for 20 weeks, enough to cause redness, but not to burn.

"This is one of those moments that we live for in science."

At the end of the experiment, the engineered mice still had smooth, unblemished skin, while the normal mice were deeply wrinkled.

“About 80 to 90 per cent of visible skin aging is caused by sunlight,” said Granville. “We found that by knocking out this gene we could markedly protect against the loss of collagen and it prevented wrinkling in these mice.”

Granzyme B breaks down proteins and interferes with the organization and the integrity of collagen, dismantling the scaffolding — or extra-cellular matrix — that cells bind to. This causes structural weakness, leading to wrinkles.

Drugs that can block the activity of Granzyme B could also have valuable medical applications.

“We are developing inhibitors that can prevent the activity of Granzyme B and prevent the degradation of that so-called extra-cellular matrix,” said Granville.

A company named viDA Therapeutics is currently developing a Granzyme-B inhibitor based on this technology and they plan to test a topically applied drug within two years on people with discoid lupus erythematosus. This is an autoimmune disease and when the skin is exposed to sunlight, it can lead to facial scarring.

Along with researching the effects on the skin, Granville and his team are also continuing to examine the effects of Granzyme B on aneurysms, especially of the aorta, the largest blood vessel in the human body.



SOURCE  Canada.com

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