Naked mole rats are not much to look at, but their biology has made them one of the most fascinating animals in aging research. These small, wrinkled rodents can live for decades, rarely develop cancer, and seem unusually protected from many of the diseases that normally arrive with age.
Researchers at the University of Rochester showed that one of those biological advantages can be moved into another mammal. By transferring a gene linked to the naked mole rat's unusually high levels of high molecular weight hyaluronic acid (HMW-HA), the team improved health and modestly extended lifespan in mice.
The work, published in Nature in 2023, suggested that at least some longevity traits that evolved in long-lived animals may be adaptable beyond the species that developed them. The genetically modified mice lived healthier lives and had an approximate 4.4 percent increase in median lifespan compared with ordinary mice.
"Our study provides a proof of principle that unique longevity mechanisms that evolved in long-lived mammalian species can be exported to improve the lifespans of other mammals," says Vera Gorbunova, the Doris Johns Cherry Professor of biology and medicine at Rochester.
Gorbunova, along with Andrei Seluanov, a professor of biology, and their colleagues, focused on a gene that helps produce HMW-HA. This substance is abundant in naked mole rats and has been tied to their striking resistance to cancer, inflammation, and age-related decline.
Why Naked Mole Rats Fascinate Aging Scientists
Naked mole rats are about the size of mice, yet their lifespans are extraordinary for rodents. They can live up to 41 years, nearly ten times longer than similarly sized rodents.
Their long lives are not the only reason scientists study them. As they age, naked mole rats appear to avoid many conditions that commonly affect other mammals, including neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and cancer. For decades, Gorbunova, Seluanov, and other researchers have been investigating how these animals stay so resilient.
One major clue is HMW-HA. Naked mole rats carry roughly ten times more of it than mice and humans. In earlier work, researchers found that when HMW-HA was removed from naked mole rat cells, those cells became more likely to form tumors.
That finding raised a powerful question. If HMW-HA helps naked mole rats resist cancer and age-related damage, could the same mechanism work in a different animal?
Transferring a Naked Mole Rat Longevity Gene
To test the idea, the Rochester team engineered mice to carry the naked mole rat version of the hyaluronan synthase 2 gene. This gene helps make the protein that produces HMW-HA.
All mammals have a version of hyaluronan synthase 2, but the naked mole rat version appears to be especially active. It seems to drive stronger gene expression, leading to greater production of the protective molecule.
The modified mice developed higher levels of hyaluronan in several tissues. They also showed stronger protection against spontaneous tumors and chemically induced skin cancer.
The effects were not limited to cancer resistance. The mice carrying the naked mole rat gene stayed healthier overall, lived longer than regular mice, had less inflammation in multiple tissues as they aged, and maintained better gut health.
Because chronic inflammation is one of the major biological features of aging, the reduction in inflammation was especially important. The researchers believe HMW-HA may work partly by directly influencing the immune system, although more research is needed to explain exactly how it produces such broad benefits.
A Small Lifespan Gain With Big Implications
The increase in median lifespan was about 4.4 percent, which is modest. But the larger significance is that a longevity mechanism from one mammal was successfully transferred to another.
That makes the finding more than a mouse study about a single gene. It supports the idea that nature's long-lived species may contain biological tools that can be studied, adapted, and possibly used to improve health in other animals.
"It took us 10 years from the discovery of HMW-HA in the naked mole rat to showing that HMW-HA improves health in mice," Gorbunova says. "Our next goal is to transfer this benefit to humans."
The researchers believe there may be two main ways to pursue that goal. One would be to slow the breakdown of HMW-HA in the body. Another would be to increase its production.
"We already have identified molecules that slow down hyaluronan degradation and are testing them in pre-clinical trials," Seluanov says. "We hope that our findings will provide the first, but not the last, example of how longevity adaptations from a long-lived species can be adapted to benefit human longevity and health."
Newer Research Adds to the Naked Mole Rat Story
Since the 2023 Nature study, naked mole rats have continued to offer new clues about why they age so differently from other mammals. A 2025 study in Science reported another potential longevity mechanism involving cGAS, a protein better known for its role in immune defense. In humans and mice, cGAS can interfere with some forms of DNA repair, but the naked mole rat version appears to help cells repair DNA damage more effectively. That study found that specific changes in the naked mole rat protein improved genome stability and delayed signs of aging in experimental models.
This newer work does not replace the HMW-HA finding. Instead, it strengthens a broader pattern. Naked mole rats likely owe their unusually long, healthy lives to several overlapping defenses, including cancer resistance, inflammation control, DNA repair, and tissue protection.
For human aging research, that matters. A single molecule is unlikely to become a simple fountain of youth. But each discovery gives scientists another possible route for targeting the biological processes that drive age-related disease.
The 2023 gene transfer study remains a striking proof of concept. A survival strategy that evolved in one of nature's strangest mammals helped mice resist disease, age more smoothly, and live longer. The next challenge is determining whether those same biological tricks can be safely adapted to improve human healthspan.
