bowhead whale, which lives more than 200 years, is the longest living mammal on Earth. Scientists now discovered a possible mechanism for her exceptional longevity. According to the team led by Professor Vera Gorbunova from the University of Rochester, extremely accurate and efficient DNA repair may play a key role.
In research, Professor Gorbun found that whale cells are better at repairing double-strand breaks in DNA and therefore have far fewer mutations. “Perhaps part of the mechanism is that DNA breaks are repaired very precisely and efficiently,” she said.
The protein CIRBP, whose production is triggered by cold, is particularly key. Whales living in Arctic waters they produce this protein a hundred times more than humans. Increasing the level of CIRBP in human cells doubled the proportion of repaired DNA breaks. A similar effect was also manifested in the fruit lovers, model genetic organisms in which the protein extended life and increased resistance to radiation.
“The first conclusion is that there is room for improvement in humans. People thought we couldn’t improve DNA repair, that it was already optimal, but the whale does it better than us.” Gorbun claims. The team is now working on mice with higher levels of CIRBP and wants to investigate whether a short cold stimulus – for example a cold bath – can increase the protein level in humans as well. “We need to see if a short exposure to cold is enough,” she added.
