Longevity gene transferred between species
A tiny boost in longevity, but it's the idea that counts
Longevity Hound
August 30, 2023
A small step for mousekind, a giant leap for longevity science
What's the news: Scientists have transferred a longevity gene from naked mole rats to their cousins, lab mice.
Why should we believe it: This news is based on a study published last week by scientists at the University of Rochester. The scientists took nmrHas2, a gene that's been tied to the longevity of the naked mole rat, and transferred it into ordinary lab mice. Result:
Lower incidence of spontaneous and induced cancer in the mice
Improved overall health in the mice
Increase in lifespan by 4.4% in the mice
Why this is a big deal: As I've written before in Long Youthspan, naked mole rats have figured out several different mechanisms for cheating death. Unlike most other mammals, which have an exponential risk of dying with age, the risk of dying for naked mole rats is linear.
This translates into an average lifespan of 30+ years for naked mole rats, 5x longer than we expect for animals of similar size. Now, ordinary mice can get some of this benefit also. While a 4.4% increase in lifespan for mice might not sound like much, it's the proof of concept in this study which is really so exciting.
So what’s next? The present study shows that at least one of the naked mole rats' longevity mechanisms can be transferred to other species. This opens up exciting possibilities — for mice, and for men. As lead investigator Vera Gorbunova put it:
"It took us 10 years from the discovery of HMW-HA in the naked mole rat to showing that HMW-HA improves health in mice. Our next goal is to transfer this benefit to humans."