Scientists find blood 'protein signature' that may predict healthy aging

A study in the journal Immunity found that people with more memory T cells producing granzyme K than granzyme B tend to age more healthily. A protein signature linked to granzyme B cells predicted higher risk of diabetes, hypertension, and liver and kidney disease over 17 years in about 48,000 UK Biobank participants.

• Immune cells from over 2,600 people aged 18 to 97 were analyzed
• A low granzyme K-to-B ratio was tied to autoimmune and chronic conditions
• The protein signature was tested on about 48,000 UK Biobank participants
• The link to disease risk is shown, but causation is not proven