Hi there,
Like many of you I am fascinated by the various findings regarding the role of telomeres in the aging process. I was wondering if there are any studies attempting to merge the anti-cancer properties of Naked Mole Rats with the new discoveries involving the telomere? I am a newbie here and this is conjecture, but I would like to know if there are any labs doing this?
Naked Mole Rats, (one of the longest living rats btw avg lifespan 34 years!) have never been discovered with cancer recorded in the wild. They appear to protect themselves against cancer in two specific ways. 1st their cells produce large amounts of a unique sugar from their fibroblasts called hyaluronic acid (HA) which appear to form "fences" around their cells which prevent cancer from exploding out from the cell.
http://www.nature.co...-cancer-1.13236
2nd Naked Mole Rats, unlike most mammals that produce 3 cancer fighting INK4 gene locus proteins, produce a 4th hybrid protein designed to prevent cancer. Called pALTINK4a/b this protein is triggered by a chemical called HMW-HA and appears to release when cells become more crowded - I speculate that if the "fence" of hyaluronic acid breaks then this protein probably offers the Naked Mole Rat a second line of defense! Cool stuff!
http://www.rochester...to-stop-cancer/
I've listened to William Henry "Bill" Andrews presentations, and although informative appear to be tied in to his supplement business. A lot of the therapies involve dosing a subject with a sample of telomerase in order to rebuild the chromosomal caps of the cell. I am very unsure of this method as it seems sloppy and unchecked. Many studies out there say that since telomerase is also found in 90% of metastic cancers that dosing one's body with telomerase would not only reset the telomeres in the cells but also promote cancer growth in pre-existing tumors. Researchers know that by blocking telomerase that they can kill cancer cells, meaning that it is a fuel source. Although cancer cells eventually mutate so they don't require telomerase this still proves that cancer cells use it to propagate.
http://www.mdanderso...rogression.html
So I was thinking if there would be a way to gain the benefit of telomerase injections without the resultant propogation of cancer?
Could we use the Naked Mole Rat's abilities in order to protect the human body after a dosage of telomerase? It appears that the Naked Mole Rat's caner fighting ability seems much more mechanical in design rather than chemical. I'm sure the creature has even more methods in place that we haven't discovered. Wouldn't using the Naked Mole Rat approach confer the benefits of life extension while blocking all fuel sources for cancer including telomerase?
I am not an expert in the least but this is fascinating to me. Is anyone attempting to combine these potential therapies? Are there rat studies? I know injecting a mutant protein in humans would take decades of study. I've searched everywhere but I don't see any papers putting two and two together. I found this stuff by trolling the internet and I may be off base but it's worth a shot. Thanks!
