Naked Mole mouse does not know what cancer is

2010/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Genetika
• Zoologia

A gene that acts on cell duplication immune to cancer

Tumors have never been observed in naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber). A team of biologists at Rochester University has found that p16 is the gene that makes rats immune to cancer. So to speak, this gene turns the cells into "claustrophobic." Therefore, when cells begin to accumulate above a quantity, cell duplication is interrupted. In this way, tumors cannot occur. In fact, tumors are cell sets that constantly double.

Researchers at Rochester University have studied for three years rodents and various cancer. The final conclusion is that small rodents with a long life expectancy have this protection mechanism. Naked mole rats are small and have a life expectancy of about thirty years.

This discovery can help fight cancer. In fact, if p16 gene activity is achieved in humans, the tumor may be anticipated before its formation. But researchers claim that it is still early to start thinking about such uses.