Researchers Uncover Why Naked Mole Rats Live Long

A new study has found that naked mole rats demonstrate exceptional resistance to cancer and aging. Naked mole rats have long interested researchers involved in cancer research and aging research.

Recently, researchers from the Kumamoto University in Japan succeeded in isolating stem cells from the brains of these rodents. In their report, the researchers explained how these cells helped maintain body homeostasis, which is important in cancer resistance and aging. Cancer and aging is caused by the depletion and dysfunction of tissue-specific stem cells, which are cells that differentiate to form specialized cells. These cells were found throughout the bodies of these rodents.

The researchers’ objective was to find out how the stem cells in naked mole rats contributed to cancer and aging. The team of researchers was led by Kyoko Miura, an associate professor at the university.

For their study, the researchers isolated neural stem cells from neonatal naked mole rats and studied their properties. They focused on neural stem and progenitor cells, with Miura stating that little was known about the properties of naked mole rat neural stem and progenitor cells despite recent research showing that these particular cells played a critical role in the development of malignant brain tumors.

Once they had isolated the cells from the subventricular zone of the newborn naked mole rat brains, the researchers cultivated them in the neurosphere. The researchers then compared the characteristics of the cultured neural stem and progenitor cells from naked mole rats with similar cells obtained from lab mice. This is in addition to assessing the cultures and analyzing cell vision and cell growth cycle properties of neural stem and progenitor cells derived from both the mouse and naked mole rat.

The scientists also looked into DNA repair in both cell types after the cells had been exposed to gamma rays. They discovered that these cells differentiated into astrocytes, neurons and oligodendrocytes, noting that these cells played a crucial role in the central nervous system. They also found that the neural stem and progenitor cells from the naked mole rats took a longer time to proliferate in comparison with cells from the mice, noting that these cells began DNA repair faster than their mice counterparts after the DNA was exposed to gamma rays.

In addition, the researchers noted that the resistance to postradiation death from these cells was higher, with Miura observing that future studies could help explain why DNA repair was more efficient in neural stem and progenitor cells in naked mole rats.

The study’s findings were reported in “Inflammation and Regeneration.”

The findings suggesting that the cancer-fighting abilities of the naked mole rat are genetic and could add to the efforts being made by companies such as CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) in the fight against the growing cases of cancer.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CNSP

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