Pet dogs usually follow predictable tracks throughout their lives. Dogs, as our loyal friends, have very limited lifespans. In general, dogs have an average lifespan of 10-13 years, which only takes up a small portion of humans’ lives, not to mention that dogs of medium and large breeds have an even shorter lifespan.
For instance, the lifespan of large breeds like the Great Dane averages 7-10 years, while that of smaller breeds like the Chihuahua is around 14-16 years. Not only are their lifespans different in length, but the aging process and diseases for different breeds also vary. According to Loyal, these differences in lifespan and aging are partially due to the selective breeding process that created these dog breeds. This process might also cause genetic issues, for example, hip dysplasia in German shepherds and respiratory problems in brachycephalic dogs.
For most pet owners, extending their pets’ lifespans is just a bold and ideal fantasy. In reality, is there any medication to help extend the lifespans of these dog breeds?
Loyal, a biotech company based in San Francisco, has invented, and developed a novel medicine, LOY-001, intended to extend the lifespan of dogs, especially those of large and giant breeds. Recently, this medicine has been conditionally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is now used in large-scale trials for more validation for the full approval.
Loyal has also designed and developed another two medicines, which are intended to extend the lifespan and health span of elderly dogs (LOY-002) and large and giant dog breeds (LOY-003). These medicines were designed as injections administered by veterinarians every 3-6 months, expected to be on the market by 2026. All these medications are intended to lower the existing level of IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor).
Loyal’s breakthrough was to link the size of large dogs to the biological mechanism of their short lifespan. They have realized that the short lifespan phenotype of large dogs may be related to a growth hormone. Among large and giant dog species, the selective breeding process for sizes causes an increase in IGF-1.
IGF-1 is a growth hormone that promotes cell growth and is reported to be involved in metabolism for longevity. Although studies have shown that suppressing this hormone can extend the lives of worms, flies, and rodents, in humans, certain centenarians have been shown to have low levels of the IGF-1 gene, but both very high and very low levels increase the risk of death, while intermediate levels have the lowest mortality.
The level of IGF-1 was also found to be related to the size of the dog. Large dogs have a genetic variant that causes higher levels of IGF-1, while small dogs have a different variant that causes lower levels of IGF-1. The large or giant breeds have relatively higher IGF-1 levels, around 28 times, than that of the smaller breeds. High IGF-1 levels in adult dogs are thought to accelerate their aging and shorten their healthy lifespan.
For now, the company has yet to prove that its drug can actually extend life, but based on some data from an early review, the FDA has expressed support for the drug in development, which will soon be tested for further validation in a larger trial. With this milestone, Loyal has led a shift in the medical community’s approach to treating age-related diseases in animals. LOY-001 represents a new class of drugs focused on targeting aging mechanisms and preventing or delaying the onset of age-related diseases, rather than waiting for patients to fall ill before treating them.
The FDA’s expansion of the conditional approval process to allow Loyal to make certain products available to market while conducting longer effectiveness studies helps the company make treatment available earlier to elderly dogs who need it the most.
Promising news has also been out for cat-lovers. Indoor cats generally live 12-18 years, and statistically, one in twelve elderly cats has kidney disease, which leads to high molarity. However, Dr. Toru Miyazaki from Japan might have cracked the code for this “cat killer”. AIM (apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage) is a secreted protein that can identify and clean the debris accumulated in the body and help the recovery from kidney injury. However, it was reported that the high binding affinity of AIM to the IgM (immunoglobulin M) antibodies causes difficulties in AIM dissociation, which causes debris accumulation, and it can severely impact the kidney health of cats. These results have been shared with and utilized by pet food producers: they have developed a cat food named A-30, while not a therapeutic, it contains ingredients that are announced to release AIM from IgM to activate the innate functions of AIM, and therefore, help maintain kidney health. The AIM-based therapeutic drug in the form of injection was also developed and planned for tests in clinical trials for further validation. According to Dr. Miyazaki, the AIM-based therapeutic vaccine was expected to at least double the lifespan of cats by 15-30 years…
While the research related to pets’ longevity is still undergoing, there are still conservative points of view that it might be still immature to develop growth hormone-based drugs. As of now, no anti-aging drugs have been approved by the FDA, but many are hopeful that the breakthrough moment in this field will come soon. In terms of the progress of longevity drugs that Loyal is developing, its approach represents a different understanding of the underlying mechanisms of aging to reduce the risk of these diseases in the first place. FDA’s conditional approval also shows the effectiveness and great potential in Loyal’s approach, but more research data are required for further validation.
All graphics in this blog were generated in Tome.
References
Mariño, Guillermo, et al. “Insulin-like growth factor 1 treatment extends longevity in a mouse model of human premature aging by restoring somatotroph axis function.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107.37 (2010): 16268-16273.
Sugisawa, R., Hiramoto, E., Matsuoka, S. et al. Impact of feline AIM on the susceptibility of cats to renal disease. Sci Rep 6, 35251 (2016).
Aiming to double cats’ lifespan | The University of Tokyo (u-tokyo.ac.jp)
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- Source: https://biotech.ucdavis.edu/blog/imagine-there-medicine-can-extend-your-pets-life