The incredible survival abilities of the naked mole rat have reached near-legendary status.
The hairless creatures have long lifespans, are resistant to cancer, and can even survive extended periods of time deprived of oxygen, making them a key target in the ongoing search for the ‘fountain of youth.’
And now, scientists may have unlocked one of their secrets.
A new study has identified a unique characteristic behind a cellular process that may allow the rodents to fight both cancer and the effects of aging, despite the two acting like ‘competing interests’ in other animals.
The hairless creatures have long lifespans, are resistant to cancer, and can even survive extended periods of time deprived of oxygen, making them a key target in the ongoing search for the ‘fountain of youth.’ File photo
A process known as cellular senescence is responsible for preventing damaged cells from dividing out of control, which can lead to cancerous tumors.
But, this comes with a price.
As senescence stops cell division, it also accelerates aging.
In the new study, the researchers from the University of Rochester investigated whether naked mole rats exhibit this anticancer mechanism – and, how it may behave differently than in other animals.
‘In humans, as in mice, aging and cancer have competing interests,’ said Vera Gorbunova, a biology professor at the university.
‘In order to prevent cancer, you need to stop cells from dividing. However, to prevent aging, you want to keep cells dividing in order to replenish tissues.’
‘We wanted to look at these animals that pretty much don’t age and see if they also had senescent cells or it they evolved to get rid of cell senescence,’ said co-author Andrei Seluanov.
The researchers compared the senescence responses of naked mole rats and mice.
A new study has identified a unique characteristic behind a cellular process that may allow the rodents to fight both cancer and the effects of aging, despite the two acting like ‘competing interests’ in other animals
While naked mole rats can live upwards of 30 years, mice live only about two to three years.
And, to their surprise, the team found that naked mole rats do experience cellular senescence.
For these rodents, however, the researchers found the process resulted in higher resistance to the damaging effects by inhibiting the metabolic process of the senescent cells.
‘In naked mole rats, senescent cells are better behaved,’ Gorbunova says.
WHY ARE SCIENTISTS INTERESTED IN THE NAKED MOLE RAT?
With wrinkly skin and walrus like teeth, naked mole rats are never going to win any beauty contests.
Yet these creatures, which live underground in the deserts of east Africa, are one the medical marvels of the natural world.
If a human was to have the same lifespan as a naked mole rat, relative to its size, they would live for up to 600 years.
As well as being resistant to cancer, they have very low respiratory and metabolic rates, meaning they use oxygen sparingly.
Scientists have put considerable effort into sequencing the creatures’ genome in an attempt to understand its secrets.
The machinery that translates their DNA into the functioning molecules in the cells, proteins, have also been found to be highly accurate.
This means their proteins contain few errors compared to other mammals, and meaning their is less chance of something malfunctioning.
‘When you compare the signals from the mouse versus from the naked mole rat, all the genes in the mouse are a mess.
‘In the naked mole rat, everything is more organized. The naked mole rat didn’t get rid of the senescence, but maybe it made it a bit more structured.’
According to the researchers, this more structured response may have an important evolutionary role to give these creatures an edge.
‘We believe there was some strategy during the evolution of naked mole rats that allowed them to have more systematic changes in their genes and have more orchestrated pathways being regulated,’ said postdoctoral associate Yang Zhao.
‘We believe this is beneficial for longevity and cancer resistance.’