The Latest on Hyaluronan in Naked Mole-Rat Longevity

Naked mole-rats live nine times as long as similarly sized rodents, and are near immune to cancer. Researchers have for some years investigated the biochemistry of this species, in search of mechanisms that might be applied to improve health and longevity in other mammals, or form the basis for cancer therapies. Teams have looked into many different areas: mitochondrial function; better DNA repair; a greatly attenuated senescence-associated secretory phenotype; more efficient operation of cancer-suppression genes; and a heavier form of hyaluronan. Researchers here show that this heavier form of hyaluronan is protective of cells, and can produce this protective effect in human cells as well as naked mole-rat cells. The longest-living rodent, the naked mole-rat (NMR) (Heterocephalus glaber), has a maximum lifespan of more than 30 years, which is fivefold greater than predicted by body mass. NMR does not show increase in mortality rates for at least 18 years, and seems to be protected from age-related deterioration such as metabolic decline, diabetes, and osteoporosis. These features indicate that NMR has evolved efficient anti-aging mechanisms. However, although NMR is increasingly appreciated as a model for aging research, how they resist aging processes remains largely unknown. An important NMR-specific anti-cancer mechanism is early contact inhibition (ECI). Cultured NMR fibroblasts are hypersensitive to contact inhibition and stop proliferating at relatively...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs