gold hunters They are one of a kind dogs Most popular in Spain. However, recent research shows that They have up to a 65% chance of dying from cancer. In a new study from the University of California-Davis (USA), researchers set out to discover whether certain genetic factors could increase your survival rate. However, instead of looking for genes associated with cancer diagnosis in this breed, they chose to look for genes associated with longer life.
The gene they found belongs to a family of proteins long known to be important in human cancers. Specific versions or variants of this gene are linked to an almost two-year increase in life expectancy. The research was published in the journal geroscience.
“Most Golden Retrievers have a genetic predisposition to cancer, But if some live to be 14, 15 or 16, we think there may be another genetic factor that helps attenuate the bad genes, and the resulting gene may be HER4,” says study co-author Robert Rebhun, professor of oncology at the aforementioned university.
HER4, also known as ERBB4, is a member of the human epidermal growth factor receptor family. This is the same gene family in humans as HER2, a gene known to cause cancer cells to grow rapidly.. Rebhun said dogs suffer from the same types of cancer as humans, which could make this discovery important for humans.
“If we find that this variant in HER4 is important in the occurrence or progression of cancer in Golden Retrievers, or if it can actually modify cancer risk in this cancer-prone population, that might be something that could be used in future studies on cancer in humans,” he said.
Hope for Golden Retrievers
The study was conducted with the participation of more than 300 Golden Retrievers. The researchers compared DNA from blood samples taken from animals 14 years of age and older to animals that died before the age of 12. They found that dogs with certain variants of the gene survived longer; They lived an average of 13.5 years, compared to an average of 11.6 years.
“Almost two years is a significant difference in a dog’s life.” said co-author Danika Bannasch, Maxine Adler Professor of Genetics at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. “Don’t we all want our beloved pets to live two more years? In Goldens, two years represents an increase in life expectancy of approximately 15% to 20%, equivalent to 12 to 14 years in humans“added.
Bannasch said this finding is still a small piece of the complex puzzle behind why a Golden Retriever develops cancer. “There will be a lot of genes involved, but the reality is It was really interesting to us that the gene associated with longevity was also a gene associated with cancer.“explained the scientist.
The study also concluded that the genetic variant was more important for longevity in female dogs than in males. HER4 has been shown to interact with hormones such as estrogen and may also play a role in processing environmental toxins.
Rebhun said the next step is to use a larger population of golden retrievers in a new study to see if these results are confirmed and to find out how this genetic variant might affect gene expression or function.
Reference work: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11357-023-00968-2
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