An engineered enzyme cleared part of the sugar damage on proteins in the lab. An early breakthrough, not a treatment. What you can already steer today.
🩺 Written by K.Y.J.A.M. Ho, MD PhD, medical specialist · reviewed by C. Pleiter, medical specialist · updated 24 August 2026 · sources & method
Scientists have engineered an enzyme that clears part of the "sugar damage" from proteins in aged human tissue, up to about 70 percent in artery and 55 percent in skin. This is an early lab result, not a treatment: it only worked on thin tissue sections, not in a living person. What you can already do today to limit that damage is keep your blood sugar steady and pay attention to how you cook your food.
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Emerging Enzyme removes CML in human tissue, in the lab Strong High blood sugar speeds up AGE formation Moderate Eating fewer AGEs is linked to better insulin sensitivity
This is educational information based on averages, not personal medical advice. Take these points to your own doctor and discuss what fits your situation. Never change medication on your own.
This check gives an indication only. It is not a medical test and makes no diagnosis. Discuss any doubt or symptoms with your doctor.
Your body is largely built from proteins, like the collagen in your skin and in the walls of your arteries. When a lot of sugar circulates in your blood, sugar molecules slowly stick to those proteins. That process is called glycation, and the residues it leaves behind are known as AGEs (advanced glycation end products). One well known example is carboxymethyllysine, or CML for short.
AGEs are a problem because the body struggles to clear them. They build up over the years and make proteins stiffer. In the skin that means less bounce and more sagging. In the arteries it adds to stiffness. It is one of the quiet mechanisms behind ageing.
In mid 2026 researchers showed something striking. They engineered an enzyme, called CMLase, that strips CML off proteins. In aged human skin tissue CML dropped by about 55 percent, and in artery tissue by about 70 percent. In the skin it even fell below the level you see in tissue from a 31-year-old.
That sounds spectacular, and as an idea it is. But let us be honest about what it is: a test on thin slices of tissue in a lab, not in a living human. Nobody yet knows whether it is safe, whether it can reach through real skin or a real artery wall, and whether those cleaned-up proteins actually work better afterwards. Think of it as first proof that the idea can hold up, not as something that will sit on your bathroom shelf any time soon.
The good news: you do not have to wait for it to act. You are constantly making new AGEs yourself, and how many depends heavily on your blood sugar and on how you prepare your food. That is the part you can influence today.
Devices exist that measure skin autofluorescence, mostly in research settings. The reading is an average indication, not a diagnosis; discuss its value with your own doctor.
For most products the evidence is limited. The best supported levers are your blood sugar, your cooking methods and not smoking.
No. CMLase has only been tested in the laboratory, on thin tissue sections. No product, course or treatment based on this enzyme exists.
Evidence labels: Strong = consistent randomised trials or meta-analyses matching the population and intervention · Moderate = randomised or solid observational evidence with limitations · Emerging = early, small or animal studies, not yet confirmed in humans.
What glycation actually is. Glycation is a non-enzymatic reaction between a sugar (mainly glucose and fructose) and the amino groups of proteins. It starts with a reversible Schiff base, proceeds through an Amadori rearrangement, and ends in stable, hard-to-break AGEs. CML (Nε-carboxymethyl-lysine) is one of the best studied end products and is often used as a marker. This is textbook biochemistry. Strong
Why it affects your skin and arteries. Long-lived structural proteins such as collagen and elastin are especially vulnerable, precisely because they stay in place for years and slowly accumulate AGEs. AGEs form cross-links between collagen fibres, making tissue stiffer and less elastic. In skin this tracks with reduced resilience and ageing; in the artery wall with rising stiffness. Reviews in the dermatology and experimental literature describe this mechanism consistently. Strong for the mechanism; how much clinical benefit you gain by actively lowering AGEs is less certain, because those studies are smaller and more mixed (Moderate). Strong
The new study. In Nature Communications (17 July 2026, "Reversal of protein chemical aging by enzymatic deglycation"), researchers from Calico, Revel Pharmaceuticals and the University of Colorado describe an engineered enzyme, CMLase, that removes CML from proteins. They tested it on several models: artificially damaged bovine albumin, naturally aged eye-lens proteins from a 64-year-old donor, and sections of human artery and skin tissue. The reported drop in CML was roughly 70 percent in artery and 55 percent in skin. What this is emphatically not, yet: the researchers worked with thin tissue sections and did not show penetration into an intact, living artery or a whole piece of skin. There were no functional tests proving the cleaned-up proteins perform better afterwards. The enzyme is of bacterial origin, so the chance of an immune reaction in humans is unknown and untested. And it did not work evenly; some CML sites came off more easily than others. It is genuinely proof of concept. Emerging
What you can steer yourself: your sugar metabolism. The higher and more erratic your blood glucose, the more glycation happens inside you. People with poorly controlled diabetes measurably carry more AGEs in their tissue. Stable blood sugar and good insulin sensitivity slow the formation at its source. This ties straight into the metabolic core: calm glucose is not only good for your energy and your weight, it also limits sugar damage to your proteins. What a healthy blood sugar looks like is covered in our knowledge base. Strong
What you can steer yourself: your plate. A meaningful share of the AGEs in your body comes from food, and mostly from how it is prepared. Dry, high-heat techniques such as grilling, roasting, searing and frying form far more AGEs than boiling, steaming or gentle stewing. Several randomised studies and a meta-analysis show that a diet lower in AGEs is associated with better insulin sensitivity and more favourable cardiometabolic markers. The effects are real but modest, and the studies differ in design, so do not overstate the promise. Moderate
The honest conclusion. An enzyme that neatly wipes away sugar damage is a beautiful prospect, and this study is a real step. But it is a lab result on tissue, not a therapy for people, and it may take years to learn whether it is safe and useful in a living body. What counts today is less glamorous and better supported: keep your blood sugar calm and mind your cooking methods. That lowers the production of new AGEs at the source, while science keeps working on clearing out the old.
This is general medical information, not a diagnosis or a treatment. For advice about your own situation, and before changing anything about your medication, always talk to your own doctor.
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