(Press-News.org) In a groundbreaking endeavor, researchers at the University of Rochester have successfully transferred a longevity gene from naked mole rats to mice, resulting in improved health and an extension of the mouse’s lifespan.
Naked mole rats, known for their long lifespans and exceptional resistance to age-related diseases, have long captured the attention of the scientific community. By introducing a specific gene responsible for enhanced cellular repair and protection into mice, the Rochester researchers have opened exciting possibilities for unlocking the secrets of aging and extending human lifespan.
“Our study provides a proof of principle that unique longevity mechanisms that evolved in long-lived mammalian species can be exported to improve the lifespans of other mammals,” says Vera Gorbunova, the Doris Johns Cherry Professor of biology and medicine at Rochester. Gorbunova, along with Andrei Seluanov, a professor of biology, and their colleagues, report in a study published in Nature that they successfully transferred a gene responsible for making high molecular weight hyaluronic acid (HMW-HA) from a naked mole rat to mice. This led to improved health and an approximate 4.4 percent increase in median lifespan for the mice.
A unique mechanism for cancer resistance
Naked mole rats are mouse-sized rodents that have exceptional longevity for rodents of their size; they can live up to 41 years, nearly ten times as long as similar-size rodents. Unlike many other species, naked mole rats do not often contract diseases—including neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and cancer—as they age. Gorbunova and Seluanov have devoted decades of research to understanding the unique mechanisms that naked mole rats use to protect themselves against aging and diseases.
The researchers previously discovered that HMW-HA is one mechanism responsible for naked mole rats’ unusual resistance to cancer. Compared to mice and humans, naked mole rats have about ten times more HMW-HA in their bodies. When the researchers removed HMW-HA from naked mole rat cells, the cells were more likely to form tumors.
Gorbunova, Seluanov, and their colleagues wanted to see if the positive effects of HMW-HA could also be reproduced in other animals.
Transferring a gene that produces HMW-HA
The team genetically modified a mouse model to produce the naked mole rat version of the hyaluronan synthase 2 gene, which is the gene responsible for making a protein that produces HMW-HA. While all mammals have the hyaluronan synthase 2 gene, the naked mole rat version seems to be enhanced to drive stronger gene expression.
The researchers found that the mice that had the naked mole rat version of the gene had better protection against both spontaneous tumors and chemically induced skin cancer. The mice also had improved overall health and lived longer compared to regular mice. As the mice with the naked mole rat version of the gene aged, they had less inflammation in different parts of their bodies—inflammation being a hallmark of aging—and maintained a healthier gut.
While more research is needed on exactly why HMW-HA has such beneficial effects, the researchers believe it is due to HMW-HA’s ability to directly regulate the immune system.
A fountain of youth for humans?
The findings open new possibilities for exploring how HMW-HA could also be used to improve lifespan and reduce inflammation-related diseases in humans.
“It took us 10 years from the discovery of HMW-HA in the naked mole rat to showing that HMW-HA improves health in mice,” Gorbunova says. “Our next goal is to transfer this benefit to humans.”
They believe they can accomplish this through two routes: either by slowing down degradation of HMW-HA or by enhancing HMW-HA synthesis.
“We already have identified molecules that slow down hyaluronan degradation and are testing them in pre-clinical trials,” Seluanov says. “We hope that our findings will provide the first, but not the last, example of how longevity adaptations from a long-lived species can be adapted to benefit human longevity and health.”
END
Longevity gene from naked mole rats extends lifespan of mice
The successful transfer of a gene that produces HMW-HA paves the way for improving the health and lifespan of humans, too.
2023-08-23
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Ice-free preservation method holds promise to protect reefs
2023-08-23
As ocean temperatures rise, coral reefs face increasing threats as ecosystem damage has accelerated in recent decades. The ability to preserve and revive biodiverse coral samples has become an essential priority for the health and future of the world’s oceans.
A Texas A&M University-led interdisciplinary team of researchers demonstrated that live coral can be preserved through a new technique called “isochoric vitrification.” This process takes selected coral fragments through the stages of cryopreservation, ...
Editorial: A macrophage is a macrophage is a macrophage—in metastasis
2023-08-23
“We hope that these results will inform future attempts at anti-macrophage therapy and lead to better outcomes for patients in the not-too-distant future.”
BUFFALO, NY- August 23, 2023 – A new editorial paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on June 6, 2023, entitled, “A macrophage is a macrophage is a macrophage—in metastasis.”
In this new editorial, researcher Thomas T. Tapmeier from Monash University, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and University of Oxford discusses a recent study he co-authored on how lung macrophages evolve during metastatic growth of lung colonies in a mouse model of melanoma. Macrophages have important roles ...
Deforestation limits nesting habitat for cavity-nesting birds
2023-08-23
With an extendable pole fitted with a small camera, Alison Ke could get a clear view of the inside of a nest box, including one time when a small, green Pacific parrotlet laid eggs. Ke, who earned a Ph.D. in ecology from UC Davis, led a research project to find out how converting rainforest to farmland affects the habitat of birds who rely on tree holes, or cavities, for nesting.
Ke worked closely with local scientists and community members to study birds around the Mache-Chindul Ecological Reserve, an area in northwest Ecuador that has experienced rapid deforestation and agricultural expansion in the past 50 years. Their study, ...
Brain lesions associated with memory loss in multiple sclerosis linked to common brain circuit
2023-08-23
Between 30 to 50 percent of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) will experience memory problems but the cause is uncertain. Brain lesions are the hallmark imaging sign used to diagnose MS and are often associated with memory dysfunction. However, increased MS brain lesions are not specific to memory problems and are also associated with fatigue, walking difficulty and other common MS symptoms. Previous studies that attempted to align the anatomy of lesions associated with memory problems in MS led to conflicting ...
2024 Hertz Fellowship application now open
2023-08-23
The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, an organization dedicated to empowering the nation’s most promising innovators in science and technology, announced today that it is accepting applications for the 2024 Hertz Fellowship awards.
The Hertz Foundation has been granting fellowships to empower the nation’s most promising young minds in science and technology since 1963. Hertz Fellows receive five years of funding, which offers flexibility and freedom from the traditional constraints of graduate training and the independence needed to pursue research to advance our ...
Mayo researchers find vaccine may reduce severity of long-haul COVID symptoms
2023-08-23
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Getting a COVID-19 vaccine may not only reduce a person's risk of getting long-haul COVID, but also could mean fewer symptoms for people who develop the condition.
Mayo Clinic researchers discovered that long-haul COVID patients who were vaccinated before contracting the virus were less likely to experience symptoms such as abdominal pain, chest pain, dizziness, and shortness of breath, according to a study published in the Journal of Investigative Medicine. The study is believed to be among the first to examine COVID-19 vaccines' potential to reduce ...
MSU research suggests natural selection can slow evolution, maintain similarities across generations
2023-08-23
MSU research suggests natural selection can slow evolution, maintain similarities across generations
Highlights:
New research from Michigan State University suggests that natural selection, famous for rewarding advantageous differences in organisms, can also preserve similarities.
Reporting in the journals New Phytologist and Evolution, the researchers worked with a plant called wild radish and its stamens, or pollen-producing parts, two of which are short and four are long.
Roughly 55 million years ago, wild radish ancestors had stamens of equal length. The team selectively bred — or artificially selected — ...
New modeling method helps to understand extreme heat waves
2023-08-23
ITHACA, N.Y. - To prepare for extreme heat waves around the world – particularly in places known for cool summers – climate-simulation models that include a new computing concept may save tens of thousands of lives.
The concept, called “ensemble boosting,” uses computationally efficient modeling to simulate a large set of extreme but plausible heat waves, all while avoiding hundreds of hours of expensive calculations on large computers.
The study on the new modeling method, led by scientists at ETH Zurich, Switzerland and Cornell University, was published Aug. ...
Insurance data reveal that vasectomies are becoming more common in the U.S.
2023-08-23
In the wake of the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade, researchers at the University of Chicago set out to investigate whether anticipation of restricted abortion access increased interest in vasectomies in the preceding years. In a new analysis, they found that vasectomy rates in the United States witnessed a remarkable surge from 2014 to 2021, as more men opted for the outpatient surgical procedure that offers permanent contraception by preventing ...
Researchers target lifecycle of parasite behind Chagas disease
2023-08-23
Almost everything about insects called kissing bugs is revolting, from the insidious way they bite people’s faces at night to drink their blood while they sleep to the way they spread disease through their poop.
Some carry a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi that causes Chagas disease, a leading cause of disability and premature death in the Americas. Left untreated, Chagas disease can cause serious heart and digestive problems. It’s showing up more and more in patients in the United States.
Now researchers at the University of Cincinnati are investigating ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
New species of tiny pumpkin toadlet discovered in Brazil highlights need for conservation in the mountain forests of Serra do Quiriri
Reciprocity matters--people were more supportive of climate policies in their country if they believed other countries were making significant efforts themselves
Stanford Medicine study shows why mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines can cause myocarditis
Biobanking opens new windows into human evolution
Sky-high smoke
AI tips off scientists to new drug target to fight, treat mpox
USC researchers develop next-generation CAR T cells that show stronger, safer response in animal models
New study reveals Industrial Revolution’s uneven health impacts across England
Vine-inspired robotic gripper gently lifts heavy and fragile objects
Fingerprint of ancient seafarer found on Scandinavia’s oldest plank boat
Lunar soil analyses reveal how space weathering shapes the Moon’s ultraviolet reflectance
Einstein’s theory comes wrapped up with a bow: astronomers spot star “wobbling” around black hole
Danforth Plant Science Center to lead multi-disciplinary research to enhance stress resilience in bioenergy sorghum
Home-delivered groceries improve blood sugar control for people with diabetes facing food insecurity
MIT researchers identified three cognitive skills we use to infer what someone really means
The Iberian Peninsula is rotating clockwise according to new geodynamic data
SwRI, Trinity University to study stable bacterial proteins in search of medical advances
NIH-led study reveals role of mobile DNA elements in lung cancer progression
Stanford Medicine-led study identifies immune switch critical to autoimmunity, cancer
Research Alert: How the Immune System Stalls Weight Loss
Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist use and vertebral fracture risk in type 2 diabetes
Nonadherence to cervical cancer screening guidelines in commercially insured US adults
Contraception and castration linked to longer lifespan
An old jeweler’s trick could unlock next-generation nuclear clocks
Older age, chronic kidney disease and cerebrovascular disease linked with increased risk for paralysis and death after West Nile virus infection
New immune role discovered for specialized gut cells linked to celiac disease
A new ‘hypertropical’ climate is emerging in the Amazon
Integrated piezoelectric vibration and in situ force sensing for low-trauma tissue penetration
Three-hit model describes the causes of autism
Beech trees use seasonal soil moisture to optimize water uptake
[Press-News.org] Longevity gene from naked mole rats extends lifespan of miceThe successful transfer of a gene that produces HMW-HA paves the way for improving the health and lifespan of humans, too.