DNA repair and anti-cancer mechanisms in the long-lived bowhead whale.

ABSTRACT: At over 200 years, the maximum lifespan of the bowhead whale exceeds that of all other mammals. The bowhead is also the second-largest animal on Earth, reaching over 80,000 kg¹. Despite its very large number of cells and long lifespan, the bowhead is not highly cancer-prone, an incongruity termed Peto's Paradox². This phenomenon has been explained by the evolution of additional tumor suppressor genes in other larger animals, supported by research on elephants demonstrating expansion of the p53 gene^3-5. Here we show that bowhead whale fibroblasts undergo oncogenic transformation after disruption of fewer tumor suppressors than required for human fibroblasts. However, analysis of DNA repair revealed that bowhead cells repair double strand breaks (DSBs) and mi

SUBMITTER: Firsanov D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11580846 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature