According to a recent article that came out in The Ubyssey, the enzyme Granzyme-B (GzmB) may be responsible for the loose, wrinkled skin that comes with advanced age. David Granville, a UBC professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine was initially experimenting with GzmB to see if the gene affected the aging of blood vessels in relation to heart attacks and strokes, when he noticed that something unique was happening to his rodent test subjects. Mice with their GzmB enzyme turned off showed more youthful looking skin that resisted the effects of aging.
Granville continued his experiments, exposing mice to sunlight to directly compare their skin. He found that the mice with more GzmB in their skin displayed more collagen breakdown, which led to more wrinkling.
As a result of these discoveries, Granville has developed a new company, viDA Therapeutics with the intent to create a drug that can block GzmB. While the path toward FDA approval and eventual sale is a long one, we may one day see this drug on the market and enjoy all the benefits of younger, more beautiful skin.