Scientists borrowed a longevity secret from naked mole rats — and used it to make mice healthier and live longer.
Scientists at the University of Rochester pulled off a remarkable experiment: they transferred a longevity-related gene from the famously long-lived naked mole rat into mice, and the mice ended up healthier and lived longer. The special gene boosts production of a substance called high molecular weight hyaluronic acid, which appears to protect against cancer, reduce inflammation, and support healthier aging. The modified mice showed stronger resistance to tumors, healthier guts, and lower levels of age-related inflammation.
The work, published in Nature in 2023, suggested that at least some longevity traits that evolved in long-lived animals may be adaptable beyond the species that developed them. The genetically modified mice lived healthier lives and had an approximate 4.4 percent increase in median lifespan compared with ordinary mice.
“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, focused on a gene that helps produce HMW-HA. This substance is abundant in naked mole rats and has been tied to their striking resistance to cancer, inflammation, and age-related decline.
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Research Paper (paywalled):
Increased hyaluronan by naked mole-rat Has2 improves healthspan in mice