Restricting Inflammatory Protein Can Potentially Detain Skin Aging

Our skin is often one of the first things we notice as we age. From soft and elastic-filled skin to elastic and wrinkly skin, scientists now suggest that interfering with an inflammatory protein known as IL-17 can help skin aging.

Your skin will inevitably age and change as years go by. It loses smoothness and plumpness, clearly shrinks, and sheds fat. Your veins and bones are easier to see, too.

Older skin is more delicate and less likely to recover after being injured, as the skin is a complex network of interrelated cell types, including immunological, epithelial, and hair follicle cells.

An inflammatory protein, or IL-17, is crucial for defending the body against infection and danger from the outside. This key cytokine links the recruitment and activation of neutrophils with the activation of T lymphocytes. In light of this, IL-17 may either support the body's natural defenses against infections or contribute to the onset of inflammatory diseases, including psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Some cells, like CD4+T cells, release cytokines that stimulate the immune system. These skin cells' connectivity and function alter as we age, eventually making us more vulnerable to various illnesses.

The findings, published in Nature Genetics and conducted by the National Center for Genomic Analysis and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, say that IL-17-producing cells are more prevalent and active in aged skin, which piqued scientists' interest in the substance.

Now, they have connected elevated IL-17 levels to the mechanisms driving age-related skin degeneration.

"Our results show that IL-17 is involved in various functions related to aging. We have observed that blocking the function of this protein slows down the appearance of various deficiencies associated with aging skin. This discovery opens up new possibilities for treating some of the symptoms or facilitating skin recovery after surgery, for example," says study author Aznar Benitah.

The antibody secukinumab, one of the available therapies for this illness, works by inhibiting IL-17.

The group looked at how inhibiting the protein affected the development of hair follicles, the rate of water loss, the capacity for healing, and genetic markers associated with skin aging. All four metrics improved as a result of blocking Il-17.

"Single cell sequencing has allowed us to dive deep into the complexity of cell types and states forming the skin and how these change during lifespan. We did not only find differences in the composition of aged skin but also changes in cell activity states," continues the head of the Single Cell Genomics laboratory at CNAG, Holger Heyn.

He says the team identified unique age-related patterns in immune cells, particularly by examining thousands of individual cells one by one. However, scientists note that because Il-17 is involved in immunity, persistently inhibiting it could have harmful negative repercussions. Instead, scientists think the short-term obstruction shown in this study may pave the way for future anti-aging therapies.

It is currently unknown how IL-17 block causes delayed aging processes. The research team intends to explore these mechanisms further and how IL-17 could be related to aging in further studies.