The naked mole rat never develops cancer, a fact which may allow us to develop treatments against the disease in the near future.
The naked mole rat is the only eusocial mammal known, working as a colony to gain resources for their queen, with incredibly longevity considering their size. With tiny beady eyes, large teeth and saggy white skin, the naked mole rat isn't going to be winning any beauty contests anytime soon. However, that doesn't mean that they can't contribute something valuable to our scientific understanding.
Recent research in a paper released by Tian et al (2013) has suggested that the same molecule which provides the mole rat with their characteristic skin is also capable of preventing the formation of cancerous growths, which may explain why cancer has never been observed in these long living rodents.
This molecule is called high molecular mass hylauranan acid (HMMHA), which forms into long chains over 5 times longer than those found in humans. It is believed that these extraordinarily long HA molecules are capable of forming a cage around a cell, preventing them from dividing in an unregulated manner. The idea that HA confers protection against cancer was supported by experiments where the mole rats could become cancerous by blocking the gene encoding for HA, or upregulating the production of proteins which can degrade HA.
Whilst Tian et al (2013) suggest in their original paper that it is solely the action of HA which confers protection against cancer, other evidence has suggested that the mole rats genomes differ from other vertebrates in such a way as to confer protection against cancer through another route.
This piece of research could do a lot for the development of our understanding of cancer, with future investigations being geared towards transferring HA into mice, who are highly susceptible to cancer. If those experiments are successful, this treatment will then be developed for us in humans, producing a completely unique type of therapy.
What do you think about this research? Comment below with your thoughts or questions or, if you'd like to get the full story find the original paper through the link below;
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