Are elephants the key to beating cancer?

No time to read?
Get a summary

Elephant genes may be key to cancer prevention. So believe me, scientists from seven institutions in the UK, including the universities of Oxford and Edinburgh, are using pioneering bioinformatics models to investigate molecular interactions. p53 proteinIt is known to protect against cancer.

The research, published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, provides new perspectives on evolution. molecular interactions that may help make people less prone to cancer. And elephants have a lot to say about it.

When a body is functioning properly, cells routinely replicate: old ones are replaced by new ones, each containing new exact copies of old DNA.

If proteins miscopy and copy DNA, mutations occur.. This happens often but most errors are immediately repaired by the cellalthough the number of mutations and the quality of repairs are affected by both genetics and external conditions.

When toxic compounds come into play, stress, poor living conditions, and aging can increase the mutation rate.. And with it, tumors.

The accumulation of these genetic mutations increases the risk of tumors with ageBut unlike humans, elephants oppose this trend.

Despite its large body size and lifespan comparable to a human, Cancer mortality is estimated to be less than 5% in elephants (25% in humans).

Scientists attribute elephants’ high cancer resistance to 20 copies of the p53 gene, which they refer to as “”.genome protectorcompared to the single copy found in other mammals.

A protein key in the fight against tumors

Professor Fritz Vollrath, from the University of Oxford, Board of Trustees of Save the Elephants and co-author of the study, said: “This complex and intriguing study reveals the impressive size and How important is it that we not only preserve but also study these symbolic animals?“. in detail. After all, their genetics and physiology are driven by current ecology, diet, and behavior as well as evolutionary history.”

A female elephant helps her cub cross the river. pixabay

The p53 protein plays an important role in the regulation of DNA repair mechanisms and suppresses uncontrolled cell growth..

The protein is activated when DNA is damaged and help edit reply stops DNA replication and repairs uncorrected copies of the cell. In replicating cells with intact DNA, p53 repair activity is unnecessary and inactivated by another protein, the MDM2 E3 ubiquitin ligase oncogene.

The regulated interaction between p53 and MDM2 is required for the division and proliferation of healthy cells, repair of damaged cells, and destruction of failed repair or extensive damaged cells..

The elephant may appear genetically gifted with 40 alleles or versions of the twenty p53 genes, but each is slightly different in structure. an elephant offers a much wider range of molecular interactions against cancer than a human with only two alleles of a single gene.

Using biochemical analyzes and computer simulations, the researchers key differences in the interaction between different fil p53 isoforms and MDM2.

An “exciting” breakthrough

Minor variations in the molecular sequence result in a different structure for each of the p53 molecules. And these structural differences significantly alter the interaction between p53 and MDM2. Like this p53 sometimes ‘escapes’ from interaction with MDM2 and therefore remains active. So continue the ‘fight’ against mutations..

So, unlike what happens in humans, different isoforms of p53 found in elephant are not degraded or inactivated by MDM2. Is that why these gigantic animals barely get cancer? Scientists think so.

A few elephants in the Cabárceno nature park in Cantabria. Ramon Diaz

Professor Robin Fåhraeus, co-author of the study, said: “This is an exciting breakthrough For our understanding of how p53 contributes to preventing cancer development. In humans, the same p53 protein is responsible for deciding whether cells should stop proliferating or undergo apoptosis, but it has been difficult to explain how p53 makes this ‘decision’”.

Presence of several p53 isoforms in elephants with different capacities to interact with MDM2 offerings An exciting new approach to shed new light on p53 tumor suppressor activity”, added Fåhraeus.

Konstantinos Karakostis, lead author of the study, from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​said: “Conceptually, the accumulation of constitutively altered p53 clusters that collectively or synergistically regulate responses to various stresses in the cell constitutes a model alternative cell regulation mechanism of high potential for biomedical applications. “.

The next step is to learn more about how p53 molecules are activated and when this leads to increased sensitivity and response to cancer conditions. The goal is to achieve targeted drug therapies to stop and treat cancer in humans..

Reference work: https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/39/7/msac149/6632613

No time to read?
Get a summary
Previous Article

Austrian club rugby players refuse to take the field with LGBT symbols on their uniforms

Next Article

How to buy Elche CF season ticket?