Found: A protein that drives ageing without unleashing inflammation

Researchers have identified granzyme K, an enzyme that appears to promote age-related deterioration in body tissues. In experiments reported in the journal Immunity, aged mice engineered to lack the enzyme showed better heart and liver function and less kidney damage than mice that produced it. The findings suggest granzyme K contributes to changes associated with ageing, including the stiffening and scarring of liver tissue. The work focuses on an enzyme linked to tissue decline rather than simply treating ageing as a consequence of generalized inflammation.

The potential significance is that reducing granzyme K could help limit age-related damage without weakening the immune system’s protective responses. Many approaches that suppress inflammation can also interfere with immune defence, making a more targeted intervention attractive. The findings are from genetically modified mice, however, and do not establish that blocking granzyme K would improve health or extend lifespan in people. They point to a possible route for future therapies, but further research would need to clarify how the enzyme affects different tissues, whether drugs can safely lower its activity, and whether the benefits seen in mice translate to humans.