Can an engineered enzyme repair molecular damage that was once thought permanent? Dr. Aubrey de Grey explains why CMLase may be an important proof of concept for longevity research—and what still has to be proven.

In this episode, Tim Ventura speaks with Dr. Aubrey de Grey, founder, President and Chief Science Officer of the Longevity Escape Velocity Foundation, about a striking new result from researchers at Revel Pharmaceuticals.

The researchers developed an enzyme called CMLase to target Nε-carboxymethyl-lysine, or CML is an advanced glycation end product that accumulates on long-lived proteins in tissues including the skin, arteries and lens of the eye. It has historically been considered a stable and effectively irreversible form of molecular damage.

After screening and evolving more than 500 million enzyme variants, the team created CMLase, which oxidizes CML and restores the affected amino acid to its native lysine form.

In laboratory experiments involving donated human tissue, CMLase reduced CML burden by more than 70% in aged arterial sections and more than 55% in aged skin sections. In the skin samples, post-treatment CML staining was lower than that observed in tissue from a 31-year-old donor. The researchers also demonstrated reductions in CML in human lens proteins.

This does not mean that a person has had their aging reversed.