THEY may not be the prettiest creatures, but naked mole rats may hold the secret to longevity. They can live for nearly 30 years longer than any other rodent.
Ageing is often blamed on the oxidising compounds we produce in our bodies, which gradually wear down DNA and proteins. These damaged molecules then go on to wreak havoc in cells.
Yet ageing naked mole rats have similar levels of oxidants to mice that live to be just 3陆. To investigate, of the University of Texas 午夜福利1000集合 Science Center in San Antonio and colleagues extracted liver tissue from both species and treated it with chemicals that 鈥渦nravel鈥� proteins to reveal damage. They found twice as many undamaged proteins in naked mole rats as in mice. What鈥檚 more, the rats鈥� protein recycling machinery was exceptionally active (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ).
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The team suspects that naked mole rats manufacture extra quantities of molecules that are responsible for labelling damaged proteins that need to be recycled quickly to minimise their effect on cells. The researchers hope to identify these molecules and test if it is possible to use them to treat age-related disease in humans.
