British scientists from Queen Mary University of London discovered how hairless mole rats, a type of rodent, manage to avoid heart attacks despite living in low-oxygen environments. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Nature Communications (NatComms).
Naked mole rats live in East Africa. These mammals establish large underground colonies consisting of several hundred individuals. The animals are long-lived and can live up to 30 years in the wild. For comparison, the average lifespan of an ordinary mouse in nature is about 2.4 years, and in captivity it does not exceed 5-7 years.
A new study has revealed that the remarkable health of naked mole rats is due to genes that enable them to survive in low oxygen concentrations and even in its absence.
The naked mole rat expresses genes that control energy production from sugar in heart cells. This provides the circulatory system with an energy reserve that protects the tissues of a vital organ from damage during a heart attack due to hypoxia (lack of oxygen).
According to the authors of the scientific study, this discovery may open opportunities to advance other areas of physiological and medical research in humans, including the development of new therapeutic approaches.
Biologists before clarified The secret of naked mole rat fertility.