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Posted: 7th November 2012

Blind mole rats able to fight off cancer

Researchers discover successful mechanism used

A team of researchers at the University of Rochester have discovered how blind mole rats are able to fight off cancer. Furthermore, the find also proves these rodents use a different mechanism to what they discovered three years ago in the naked mole rat, another cancer-resistant mole.

Biologists found that abnormally growing cells in the blind mole rat secrete the interferon beta protein, which cause those sells to rapidly die. The team, led by Professor Vera Gorbunova and Assistant Professor Andrei Seluanov, hope the discovery will eventually help lead to new cancer therapies in humans.

Gorbunova and Seluanov made their discovery by isolating cells from blind mole rats and forcing them to reproduce in culture beyond what occurs in the animal. After dividing approximately 15-20 times, all of the cells in the culture dish died rapidly. The researchers determined that the rapid death occurred because the cells recognised their pre-cancerous state and began secreting a suicidal protein, called interferon beta. The precancerous cells died by a mechanism which kills both abnormal cells and their neighbours, resulting in a "clean sweep."

"Not only were the cancerous cells killed off, but so were the adjacent cells, which may also be prone to tumourous behaviour," said Seluanov.

Gorbunova commented: "While people don't use the same cancer-killing mechanism as blind mole rats, we may be able to combat some cancers and prolong life, if we could stimulate the same clean sweep reaction in cancerous human cells,"

Gorbunova and Seluanov say they next want to find out exactly what triggers the secretion of interferon beta after cancerous cells begin multiplying in blind mole rats. Their findings are being published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.



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