There are animals that have superpowers.
Elephants rarely develop cancer despite having a life expectancy similar to that of humans. A team from the University of Utah (USA) identified the cause in 2015. These animals have 38 additional copies of a gene that produces the p53 protein, known for its ability to suppress tumors. In addition, they have a much more efficient mechanism than humans to remove damaged cells at risk of becoming cancerous from circulation.
Dolphins, on the other hand, have special protection against blood clots, another of the great threats to the health of our species.
Hibernating: the next health craze?
Christopher Gregg and Elliot Ferris, of the American university, are two of the researchers who are tracking the genome of several species of mammals in search of the keys to these superpowers. On Tuesday, they published an article in the journal Cell Reports in which they explore the reasons why hibernating animals, such as bears, do not develop problems associated with obesity or insulin resistance.
Their analysis included four species that go into hibernation at some time of the year: the tenrec hedgehog (Echinops telfairi), the thirteen-strip ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus), the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) and the bat (Myotis lucifugus). These animals, with some variations, spend several months in which their pulses and breathing drop drastically — the squirrel lowers its heart rate from 200 beats per minute to about five, and breathing more than a hundred times per minute happens to do so once each time each five minutes—and those who don’t need to feed, urinate, or defecate.
To achieve this goal, in the previous months, individuals of these species have to eat to accumulate reserves. Somehow, they become obese and resistant to insulin, but in a healthy way. A human with these fluctuations throughout the year would end up suffering from diabetes, hypertension and many other health problems.
The authors of the paper compared the genomes of the four species with those of healthy humans and with genes related to Prader-Willi syndrome, a disease that triggers an insatiable appetite that causes morbid obesity. Thus, they identified regions of the genome of these animals, close to many related to obesity in humans, that would allow them to turn off some elements that control genes related to obesity. In total there are 364 genetic elements related to the regulation of hibernation and obesity.
Researchers are working on epigenomic editing techniques to control obesity
At the moment, such extensive genome studies do not have a direct application to people’s health. Scientists are first trying to understand how, throughout evolution, common regions of the genome that are now behind obesity or metabolic problems have served different animals to better adapt to their circumstances. In some cases and at different times in animal history, this adaptation meant developing the ability to hibernate for months. Bears, this healthy regulation of obesity allows them to survive during the winter, while lemurs, the only primates that hibernate, that temporary suspension of activity serves them to spend the dry season in Madagascar.
But in addition to getting basic information about some biological mechanisms, Gregg and his collaborators already think about how to apply this knowledge. “Understanding the parts of the genome that influence obesity or metabolic syndrome, we can assess a person’s risk of developing these diseases throughout their life from their genetic sequence. So we could help people adapt their lifestyle to their conditions and in the future also create drug treatments to treat people who have developed obesity,” says the researcher. “My lab is already working with Jason Gertz, from the University of Utah, to develop a targeted epigenomic editing technology using CRISPR to personally control obesity or metabolic activity in patients,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Gregg continues to search the ocean for mammal genetics in search of variants that humans still have that in some animals have become something like superpowers.
