Scientists Discover Longevity Gene Therapy That Successfully Extends Lifespan in Study

Nature may already hold some of the secrets to healthy aging, hidden inside a nearly hairless rodent that barely seems to age at all. Scientists have now shown that a longevity-related gene from the naked mole rat can actually improve health and extend lifespan in mice, offering one of the clearest signs yet that aging mechanisms from long-lived animals might someday help humans too.

Researchers at the University of Rochester transferred a gene linked to the naked mole rat’s unusually high production of high molecular weight hyaluronic acid (HMW-HA) into mice. The study, published in Nature in 2023, found that the modified mice lived healthier lives and showed a roughly 4.4% increase in median lifespan.

Naked mole rats have fascinated scientists for years because they can live up to 41 years — nearly ten times longer than similarly sized rodents — while showing remarkable resistance to cancer, chronic inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegeneration.

The key molecule in this study, HMW-HA, appears to play a major protective role. Naked mole rats naturally produce around ten times more of it than mice or humans. Previous studies showed that removing HMW-HA from naked mole rat cells made them more vulnerable to tumor formation.

To test whether this protection could transfer to another species, researchers engineered mice with the naked mole rat version of the hyaluronan synthase 2 gene, which boosts production of HMW-HA. The modified mice developed stronger resistance to spontaneous tumors and chemically induced skin cancer. They also experienced lower levels of age-related inflammation and maintained healthier gut function as they aged.

Researchers caution that no single gene will become a “fountain of youth.” Still, the findings suggest that evolution may have already solved some biological problems tied to aging. By studying species that naturally resist disease and decline, scientists hope to uncover therapies that could one day improve human healthspan and delay age-related illness.

REFERENCE: Zhihui Zhang, Xiao Tian, J. Yuyang Lu, Kathryn Boit, Julia Ablaeva, Frances Tolibzoda Zakusilo, Stephan Emmrich, Denis Firsanov, Elena Rydkina, Seyed Ali Biashad, Quan Lu, Alexander Tyshkovskiy, Vadim N. Gladyshev, Steve Horvath, Andrei Seluanov, Vera Gorbunova. Increased hyaluronan by naked mole-rat Has2 improves healthspan in mice. Nature, 2023; 621 (7977): 196 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06463-0