Key points from article :
Scientists have engineered an enzyme that can remove a stubborn form of molecular damage that builds up in human tissues with age. The enzyme, called CMLase, targets Nε-carboxymethyl-lysine (CML), a type of advanced glycation end product that accumulates on long-lived proteins in tissues such as the skin, blood vessels and eyes. CML can stiffen tissues and contribute to chronic inflammation, making it a potentially important target for therapies aimed at age-related damage.
The researchers created CMLase using a process called directed evolution, screening more than 500 million enzyme variants before selecting and refining one capable of breaking down CML attached to proteins. In laboratory tests, the enzyme removed up to 97% of detectable CML from specially prepared proteins after overnight treatment. Tests on preserved human tissues also produced promising results, reducing CML by more than 70% in elderly artery samples and 55% in skin tissue.
The findings are particularly notable because CML has long been considered difficult, if not effectively impossible, to reverse once it has accumulated on proteins. Rather than simply preventing new age-related damage, the approach could potentially allow existing molecular damage to be repaired. Researchers suggest similar enzyme-engineering techniques might eventually be used against other forms of age-related protein damage.
However, the work is still firmly at the proof-of-concept stage. The enzyme has so far been tested on laboratory proteins and preserved human tissues, not living people. Researchers will need to establish whether CMLase can safely reach damaged proteins inside the body and whether removing CML actually reduces inflammation or improves tissue function. If those hurdles can be overcome, the technology could eventually form the basis of regenerative treatments targeting ageing-related damage in tissues such as the skin, blood vessels and eyes.
