Researchers of University if British Columbia have made this recent breakthrough when they were observing the blood vessel deterioration in mice. The research was being conducted to observe the Granzyme B on blood vessel aging. Granzyme B is a particular type of enzyme most commonly found in the granules of cytotoxic lymphocytes(CTLs) and natural killer cells (NK cells). At the end of the study, some unusual and unexpected results were observed that left the researchers baffled. The specimens of mice which were observed to be having low levels of Granzyme B had perfectly smooth skin in comparison with those mice who had high levels of it. The mice having high levels of Granzyme B showed clear and definite signs of aging.
Granzyme B is a serine protease and has the ability to break down other proteins. This particular enzyme is the result of production of immune cells and natural killer cells. There are many other secondary functions of Granzyme B as well. Granzyme B also induce inflammation by stimulating cytokine release and is also involved in extracellular matrix remodelling. It forms a basic network of proteins and other molecules which take up the space between cells and is observed to serve a crucial role in skin aging. In order to get a conclusive set of resultant observations, the scientists again repeated the experiment. The experiment was conducted using two groups of mice specimens. The first group was periodically exposed with Ultra Violet light for 20 weeks and the other specimen was kept under control conditions and growth of Granzyme B. The result thus obtained after 20 weeks was stunning, the specimen of mice kept in controlled condition of Granzyme B showed no signs of aging while the other group had visible wrinkled skin. Granzyme B interferes with the structural integrity of collagen. Collagen is the main protein entity of the human body and thus its disintegration directly leads to the symptoms of aging. Granzyme B secretion is one of the ways immune cells cause other cells to self-destruct, a process called apoptosis. So it would make sense that levels of this enzyme go up after sunlight exposure. To stop the aging we would have to find a way to completely remove it from the body but since it is an important part of the immune system, its removal poses a problem. May be it is the price we will have to pay to look young forever.
