- Статьи
- Science and technology
- Time does not heal: can rodents open the way to immortality for humans
Time does not heal: can rodents open the way to immortality for humans
People have been searching for the "elixir of immortality" since ancient times, attributing miraculous properties to mythical artifacts and rare substances. Today, such searches are no longer conducted by alchemists, but by gerontologists, specialists studying the mechanisms of aging. And one of the main objects of their attention was the naked mole rat, a small underground rodent with an unusually high resistance to age-related diseases. Recently, researchers at the University of Rochester were able to partially transfer the protective mechanisms of this animal to another species, opening up new perspectives in the study of longevity. In an interview with Izvestia, scientists described the uniqueness of naked mole rats and how close humanity has come to creating drugs that can prolong a healthy life.
How naked diggers opened the way to immortality
The naked mole rat has long been considered one of the main biological mysteries in the animal world. This small underground rodent is able to live for more than 40 years — almost 10 times longer than ordinary mice of comparable size. However, scientists are amazed not only by the length of his life, but also by the aging process itself. They rarely get cancer, almost never encounter cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, and age-related changes develop much more slowly than in most mammals.
That is why diggers have been the focus of gerontologists' attention for many years. One of the leading researchers in this field are University of Rochester scientists Vera Gorbunova and Andrey Seluanov. Recently, their research group published a paper in the journal Nature, which caused a wide response among colleagues.
The researchers were able to partially transfer the defense mechanisms of the naked mole rat to other animals. To do this, scientists injected mice with a gene responsible for the synthesis of a special form of hyaluronic acid (HMW-HA). According to the authors of the study, it is this molecule that plays an important role in the resistance of diggers to aging and the development of tumors.
As the scientists explained in a conversation with Izvestia, the key to the longevity of these animals may be related to the characteristics of the tissues and the intercellular environment. The mechanism associated with hyaluronic acid was first described by their team back in 2013.
— Then we showed that the cells of naked mole rats produce a large amount of high-molecular hyaluronic acid, which prevents oncogenic transformation of cells. When we removed this factor, the cells became much more susceptible to becoming cancerous," said Andrey Seluanov.
Can naked diggers teach people immortality
The new study is a continuation of this work. The scientists decided to test whether it is possible to instill a similar defense mechanism in other species.
— We took the HAS2 gene, responsible for the synthesis of the long form of hyaluronic acid, and transferred it to mice. As a result, the animals became healthier, their cancer rates decreased, and their average life expectancy increased by about 4.4%. This became a kind of proof that the mechanisms of longevity can be transferred between species," Seluanov explained.
Although the increase in life expectancy turned out to be relatively small, a fundamental result is important for researchers. The experiment showed that the mechanisms of protection against aging can indeed be partially reproduced in another species. However, we are not talking about creating an "elixir of immortality" or attempts to genetically modify a person.
— We do not plan to conduct transgenic experiments on humans — mice serve only as a model. However, humans have similar genes, so now a different approach is being considered: not genetic intervention, but the use of small molecules capable of simulating the effect of accumulation of high—molecular hyaluronic acid, explained Vera Gorbunova.
In fact, the work of the University of Rochester research group was one of the first convincing confirmations that nature could already create effective mechanisms for delayed aging. Now the task of science is to understand how they work and learn how to safely reproduce them in humans.
Who else can you learn from for a long life
At the same time, naked mole rats are far from the only representatives of the animal world who can tell more about life expectancy. Thus, the mole rat, an underground rodent found in the Middle East, despite its close relationship with other rodents, demonstrates its own mechanisms of protection against tumor processes.
— When cells begin to divide rapidly and there is a risk of a tumor, a process is triggered in which DNA damage and metabolic disruptions lead to an inflammatory reaction and the destruction of potentially dangerous cells. We have something similar, but they have a more efficient mechanism," Izvestia's interlocutors explained.
The bowhead whale, one of the longest—lived mammals on the planet, remains an even more mysterious object for gerontologists. Some individuals can live for more than 200 years. From the point of view of biology, this looks almost paradoxical.
— In such a huge animal, the risk of cancer should be higher, because there are a lot of cells. But they have powerful defense mechanisms. They have fewer mutations, and this is probably one of the key factors in their longevity," Vera Gorbunova said.
Research on bats is currently being highlighted in a separate area. Despite their small size, many species live unusually long and have unique immune systems.
Gradually, a new picture of aging is emerging from these observations. It seems that nature has independently "invented" protection mechanisms against age—related diseases many times - through inflammation control, enhanced DNA repair, tissue damage resistance, and the special work of the immune system. Against this background, old age itself begins to look not like a single process, but as a series of accumulated biological failures.
— With age, the genes that should be turned off begin to activate, and vice versa. This disrupts the normal functioning of the cells. The consequence of this process is the activation of transposons, fragments of DNA that have long been considered "genetic garbage," the researchers explained.
Their activation causes damaged DNA to appear inside cells and triggers chronic inflammation, one of the main signs of aging. That is why modern longevity science is increasingly focusing not on finding the "pill of immortality", but on trying to stabilize the body's internal systems: reduce inflammation, slow down the accumulation of mutations and restore control over cellular processes.
How the science of longevity becomes medicine
The logic of research in the field of aging is noticeably shifting today. According to scientists, the key task is no longer to transfer individual genes from one species to another, but to reproduce their beneficial effects with the help of drugs. In fact, we are talking about turning the fundamental discoveries of gerontology into a practical medicine of aging — an approach that can slow down inflammatory processes, reduce the accumulation of cellular damage and maintain tissues in a functionally "younger" state.
According to researchers at the University of Rodchester, their group has already received a grant to test a promising drug in mice. If the results are successful, the next step will be clinical trials.
— Now is really a very interesting time.: Such drugs are already beginning to be tested. In mice, we see a decrease in inflammation and an improvement in biomarkers — signs of slowing aging," she notes.
In parallel, more gentle, natural approaches are being studied. For example, clinical trials of compounds derived from brown algae are underway in Singapore. As Andrey Seluanov explains, in Asian countries where such algae are traditionally included in the diet, there is indeed a higher life expectancy. In experiments on mice, these substances improved DNA repair and supported cellular functions, increasing life expectancy by about 15%.
At the same time, scientists urge caution. Despite the growing interest and multibillion-dollar investments in the science of longevity, most of the results have so far been obtained in preclinical models.
— The main difficulty lies in the very nature of aging — it is a slow process, a full assessment of which requires decades of observation. There is a lot of noise in this area now. There are many claims, but the basis is animal data. Human testing takes a very long time," Seluanov emphasizes.
At the same time, even promising technologies face a fundamental limitation — security. If a certain level of risk is acceptable in the treatment of diseases for the sake of therapeutic effect, then in the case of healthy people, the requirements for anti-aging drugs are much stricter.
Mikhail Bolkov, PhD, Researcher at the Institute for the Study of Aging at the Russian Gerontological Research and Clinical Center at Pirogov University, agrees with this. According to him, even the most modern interventions in the biology of aging do not remove a key limitation — the accumulation of damage in DNA.
— Control of DNA integrity and its repair is the basis of antitumor control and preservation of cell youth. If damage accumulates, no technology can fully compensate for it. Even if we can rejuvenate cells or deliver genes, we know too little about the long-term effects. Any interference can occur decades later," the expert notes.
According to him, biological limitations remain a fundamental factor that will have to be considered even with the development of the most advanced technologies.
— DNA disorders accumulate in mitochondria and stem cells, and sooner or later this happens in everyone. Then the body's ability to resist time decreases to almost zero," says the expert.
In this context, instead of the idea of an "immortality pill", a more realistic scenario is increasingly being discussed — personalized aging medicine. It is based on an individual approach that takes into account the genetic and biological characteristics of each person. According to the scientists, this approach no longer looks like a fantasy technologically: genome sequencing costs about $100 today and is performed once in a lifetime, creating the basis for future personalized therapy.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
