The Digger gene
Scientists from the Russian Federation have extended the life of mice with the help of the "immortal" rodent gene
Molecular biologists from the USA and Russia noticeably prolonged the life of mice and improved their general physical condition in old age by inserting one of the genes of naked diggers, "immortal" rodents into their DNA. This was told by Vera Gorbunova, a geneticist from University of Rochester, speaking at a conference at MSU.
"Will this technique work for humans? Of course, hardly anyone will edit the genome in this way. On the other hand, you can simply reduce the activity of those enzymes that destroy hyaluronic acid molecules. Now we are searching for substances that can do this," Gorbunova said.
The naked digger (Heterocephalus glaber) is a unique mammal with many amazing properties. This hairless underground rodent the size of a mouse and weighing 30-50 grams lives in East Africa. Half a century ago, scientists discovered that these creatures live unusually long for their size, tens of times higher than normal, and are almost not susceptible to cancer.
During the entire observation period, as noted by a specialist from Rochester, biologists have recorded only four cases of tumor development. In addition, diggers practically do not feel pain, can go without oxygen for a long time and do not react to skin irritation when in contact with caustic acids.
Five years ago, Gorbunova and her colleague Andrey Siluyanov noticed that the cells of diggers produce and secrete an unusually large number of heavy molecules of hyaluronic acid, one of the main components of cartilage and connective tissue, as well as creams for smoothing wrinkles.
This "heavy" and "sticky" substance, as Siluyanov and Gorbunova later found out, was one of the reasons why these "immortal" rodents almost do not suffer from cancer. When the cells of diggers or other mammals encounter accumulations of hyaluronic acid, they stop dividing.
The high mass and density of acid from the body of diggers, respectively, stops the process of their division earlier than in the body of other animals, which stops the development of cancer at the earliest stages of its development. Scientists tested this idea by removing the HAS2 gene, responsible for the synthesis of hyaluronic acid, from the cells of diggers. This led to the fact that they lost their "invulnerability" and began to turn into "blanks" of tumors.
Russian and American scientists have tested what happens when HAS2 is transplanted into the DNA of ordinary mice whose body does not contain a heavy variety of this substance. These experiments, as Gorbunova said, led to several interesting and unusual results.
In the past, some biologists doubted that this feature in the work of the body of diggers is really associated with cancer. These doubts turned out to be in vain – mice with a "severe" version of HAS2 were about two times less likely to suffer from tumors than their relatives from the control group.
However, the positive effect of such "gene therapy" did not end there. As observations of mice showed, their bodies contained significantly more "adult" stem cells, they suffered significantly less from osteoporosis, lung problems and other senile diseases, and were 2-3 times more resilient and strong than their elderly peers.
All this led to the fact that such mice lived much longer than ordinary rodents – both the average and maximum duration of their life increased by several weeks. Now Gorbunova, Siluyanov and their colleagues are continuing experiments and trying to understand what these changes are related to and how they can be used for the benefit of man.
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