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Naked Mole Rat's Cancer Resistance May Point Way To Preventing Disease In Humans

Does Hairless Rodent Hold Key To Cancer?
LiveScience
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Apart from their hairless appearance, naked mole rats are known for several distinguishing characteristics: They have an unusually long life span for a rodent, and they seem to be protected from developing cancer. Now, researchers have pinpointed a natural substance found between the rodents' tissues that may explain their cancer resistance.

Understanding how this substance, known as hyaluronan, protects naked mole rats from developing cancerous tumors could lead to novel cancer-prevention techniques for humans, said study lead author Vera Gorbunova, a professor in the department of biology at the University of Rochester in New York.

In animals, hyaluronan is a component of the extracellular matrix (the noncellular part of tissue) and is known to hold cells and tissues together. The substance also acts as a signal to control the growth of certain cells, said Andrei Seluanov, an assistant professor in the department of biology at the University of Rochester, and co-author of the new study.

Cancer-proof

The researchers studied tissue cultures from naked mole rats and found these small, subterranean rodents produce a unique, high-molecular-mass form of hyaluronan, which they referred to as HMW-HA. When this substance was removed, Gorbunova and her colleagues found that naked mole rat cells became susceptible to tumor growth, suggesting HMW-HA plays an important role in the rodents' resistance to cancer. [10 Amazing Things You Didn't Know About Animals]

"This is unique to this species, so it's pretty amazing," Seluanov told LiveScience. "We were able to focus on the anti-cancer mechanism in naked mole rats."

Hyaluronan also keeps tissues flexible, he added, something that would be beneficial for the burrowing rodents.

"Naked mole rats need good elasticity in their skin, because they don't have any fur," Seluanov said. "When they move through their tunnels, it's important that they do not rupture their skin."

The demands of their subterranean lifestyle may explain why naked mole rats developed higher levels of hyaluronan in their skin in the first place, the researchers said.

"What excites me is that this is just one component of a whole mosaic of strange characteristics that these animals have produced due to extreme adaptations to living underground," said Chris Faulkes, a molecular ecology researcher at the Queen Mary University of London, who was not involved with the study.

In this way, natural selection may have influenced the cell biology of naked mole rats, he added.

"This high-molecular-mass hyaluronan may have been produced to give naked mole rats highly elastic skin so they don't get stuck in burrows, and it's almost a side consequence that it seems to be useful in preventing cancer as well," Faulkes told LiveScience.

Clinical applications

Whereas humans also produce hyaluronan naturally, it is in much smaller quantities, and the physical properties are different, according to the researchers. Still, determining the anti-cancer mechanism in naked mole rats could have far-reaching clinical applications for humans.

"By looking at this completely weird and unusual organism, we can find some novel mechanisms that apply across mammals," Faulkes said. "Understanding some of these amazing things could have broad applicability for human health."

Because of its elastic properties, hyaluronan injections are already used in clinical settings, most notably in dermatology and as a pain reliever for people with arthritis in knee joints, Seluanov explained. So far, no significant side effects have been reported, the researchers said.

In the future, the researchers plan to investigate whether HMW-HA can effectively protect human cells from cancer.

"We are very optimistic that the anticancer mechanism we found in the naked mole rat can be translated to humans," Gorbunova said.

The detailed results of the study were published online today (June 19) in the journal Nature.

Follow Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. Follow LiveScience @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Before You Go

17 Crazy Medical Treatments In History
Take A Trip?(01 of17)
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Psychedelics like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) have a complicated history of being used as potential treatments for mental illness. Researchers studied LSD therapy in the 1950s and 1960s, and published numerous clinical papers involving more than 40,000 patients. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 then prohibited the drug's medical use. (credit:Flickr: Barb Henry)
Tapeworm Diet?(02 of17)
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The "tapeworm diet" appeared in the early 20th century. Once thought to be an effective way to lose weight, but some tapeworm species are linked with malnutrition, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, anemia and other health risks. (credit:Flickr: orionpozo)
Medical Vibrators?(03 of17)
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The vibrator emerged as an "electromechanical medical instrument" at the end of the 19th century to treat so-called female hysteria, of which symptoms included nervousness and trouble sleeping. Advertisements for vibrators could have even been seen in the pages of a Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog. (credit:Public Domain)
Dog Poop?(04 of17)
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A make-it-yourself remedy to ease a sore throat once included the strange ingredient of Album graecum (which is dried dog dung), as written in the book "The Popularization of Medicine, 1650-1850." (credit:Wikimedia Commons/Asmadeus)
Coca-Cola As 'Healthy?'(05 of17)
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Coca-Cola was originally created by Dr. John Pemberton around 1886 as a "medicinal" formula and marketed as a "health" drink (it once contained cocaine, but the ingredient was later removed in 1903). Soda dispensers were even installed in some pharmacies in 1948. (credit:Wikimedia Commons: Richard Warren Lipack)
Shock & Lobotomy?(06 of17)
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Electroconvulsive therapy (which was first developed around 1938) and lobotomy (first performed on humans in the 1890s) were both procedures thought to "cure" homosexuality. Of course, contemporary science does not classify homosexuality an illness. Electroconvulsive therapy is, however, still a legitimate treatment for severe depression. (credit:Flickr: otisarchives4)
Smoke For Your Health?(07 of17)
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Before anti-smoking ads became commonplace, there were pro-smoking ads. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the inhalation of fumes from burning tobacco was a suggested therapy for asthma. (credit:Public Domain)
Virgin Cleansing?(08 of17)
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The troubling myth that someone infected with a STD can transfer the disease by having sex with a virgin, thus curing themselves, dates back to at least the 16th Century, when the practice was first documented in relation to syphilis and gonorrhea in Europe. The myth continues in some parts of Africa, leading to many cases of reported child rape. (credit:Wikimedia)
Heroin As Cough Medicine?(09 of17)
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Heroin, chemically known as diacetylmorphine, was once prescribed to treat common ailments such as coughs, colds and pain--the drug was manufactured for such treatment by Bayer starting in 1898, according to BBC News. (credit:Wikimedia)
Ketchup As Medicine?(10 of17)
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In the late 1830s, Dr. Archibald Miles claimed to have extracted a substance from tomatoes to help ailments such as diarrhea and indigestion. The pills named "Dr. Miles' Compound Extract of Tomato" were later declared a hoax. (credit:Shutterstock)
Ecstasy Therapy?(11 of17)
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The drug MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy) dates back to the early 20th century. During the 1970s, some psychiatrists even suggested using the drug for psychotherapy. Even though the drug is now controlled, proponents of ecstasy therapy have reemerged in recent years. (credit:Wikimedia)
Radium Therapy?(12 of17)
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An advertisement that touts preparing radioactive drinking water at home was one of many promotions for radiation therapy around 1913. Now radium is understood to be a health hazard--for example, long-term exposure increases the risk of developing several diseases. (credit:Public Domain)
Bloodletting?(13 of17)
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Throughout history, bloodletting (sometimes with the aid of a leech) was practiced to both cure and prevent illness. But this treatment wasn't all bad--medical leeches are now sometimes suggested to help with blood circulation or draining blood during surgeries. (credit:Wikimedia)
Mummy Powder?(14 of17)
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Across medieval Europe and the Middle East, corpses were ground into powder and used as medicine. This "mummy powder" was thought to cure common ailments, such as headaches and stomach ulcers. (credit:Wikimedia: Tomascastelazo)
Mercury To Treat Syphilis?(15 of17)
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Mercury was used as a treatment for syphilis until the early 20th century. Side effects of such mercury treatments could include tooth loss, ulcerations, neurological damage or even death. (credit:Wikimedia)
Shark Cartilage To Treat Cancer?(16 of17)
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The suggestion of using shark cartilage to treat cancer emerged around the 1950s, stemming from research by Dr. John Prudden. But recent studies have found no health effects in taking shark cartilage, according to the National Cancer Institute. (credit:Alamy)
Soothing Syrup?(17 of17)
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Mrs. Winslow's "soothing syrup" was a popular formula that emerged in the late 1800s to help ease the teething process for young children. What was in this special syrup? Alcohol and morphine sulfate. The syrup was taken off the market in the 1930s. (credit:Public Domain)
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