Naked Mole Rats Defy Aging

Everyone wants to know what the secret to a long, healthy life is, and now researchers may have found the answer from an unlikely source. Naked mole rats, it seems, are able to defy aging due to certain cells that enhance protein integrity, according to a new study.

According to research from a team at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, a factor in the cells of naked mole rats protects and alters the activity of the proteasome, which gets rid of damaged and obsolete proteins.

In general, as an organism ages, not only are there more damaged proteins in need of disposal, but the proteasome itself becomes damaged and less efficient in clearing out the damaged proteins.

The cells of naked mole rats also protect proteasome function in human, mouse and yeast cells when challenged with various proteasome poisons, previous studies have shown. These proteasomes usually stop functioning right away, leading to the accumulation of damaged proteins that further impair cell function, contributing to the vicious cycle that leads to cell death.

"I think this factor is part of an overall process or mechanism by which naked mole rats maintain their protein quality," study first author Karl Rodriguez, Ph.D., said in a press release.

This mechanism in naked mole rats shows that enhancing protein quality may be the key to longevity in humans - at least, that was the case for yeast, worms, fruit flies and naked mole rats, according to Rodriguez.

These nearly hairless rodents are native to East Africa, and can live up to 32 years. According to National Geographic, they have a wide geographical distribution and can live below sea level or high on mountainside plains. Though naked mole rats spend most of their time excavating and foraging in their burrows, they occasionally emerge to search for seeds or other plants.

The study, published in the journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease, says that these rats can live cancer-free and maintain good reproductive potential well into their third decade of life.