Bowhead whales—the only warm-blooded mammal that outlives humans—can survive for 200 years and seldom get age-related diseases like cancer. University of Rochester researchers discovered a new clue to the whales' longevity: an abundant protein called CIRBP that helps repair DNA.
Acquiring cancer is a complex process that involves biology, inherited genes, and environmental exposures. Along the way, if breaks in DNA occur and the genetic damage is not repaired, cancer is more likely. The team found that in bowhead whales, the DNA-repair protein CIRBP, was present at 100-fold higher levels compared to other mammals.
Wilmot Cancer Institute members Vera Gorbunova, PhD , and Andrei Seluanov, PhD , led the collaborative research project with other institutions, and reported their findings in the journal, Nature.
The renowned scientists also investigate other long-lived species and the factors that allow for a healthy, extended life. Earlier this year, they reported that four common species of bats possess biological superpowers that deter cancer.
"This research shows it is possible to live longer than the typical human lifespan," Gorbunova said.
While working with scientists in Alaska on the bowhead whale project, the Rochester team also discovered that lower temperatures seem to enhance the CIRBP protein.
How might this translate to humans?
It's too early to say, but Gorbunova suggested that it would be worth exploring how to boost the human body's CIRBP activity. Hypothetically, lifestyle changes such as cold showers or cold-temperature exposure could work.
"There are different ways to improve genome maintenance and here we learn there is one unique way that evolved in bowhead whales where they dramatically increase the levels of this protein," Gorbunova says. "Now we have to see if we can develop strategies to upregulate the same pathway in humans."
For the full story: https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/cirbp-protein-mammalian-longevity-bowhead-whales-674682/
Gorbunova and Seluanov are part of Wilmot's Genetics, Epigenetics, and Metabolism basic science research program .
