Could the Naked Mole-Rat Be the Secret to Curing Cancer?

The naked mole-rat is one of the ugliest animals in the world, but it could hold the secret to curing cancer, which makes it beautiful.

At first glance, you might think this creature has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments for years. It wears a nearly naked skin, resembling the baldness that is associated with this therapy. The wrinkly skin looks more like what you find on your elbow that you don’t want to discuss because it’s just one of those strange areas of your body. Yes, this creature is not pretty to look at, but it just might be the animal that unlocks the secrets we want to learn.

What Makes This Animal Special?

Mammals are supposed to be covered in hair, but not the naked mole-rat. This animal is basically naked, as the name and appearance suggest, and it only has a few hairs on its face that are more like whiskers than hairs that help guide the animal. When you see one of these creatures, you might be reminded of a cocktail sausage with legs and teeth, but the biology of this animal is extraordinary.

You can only find this animal living underground in tunned in East Africa. This is a thermally stable environment that allows this creature to live without the fur that we associate with mammals. Because the underground tunnels are regulated by the temperature of the earth and not subject to air temperatures, this animal does not have the need to regulate its body temperature. This makes it the only known cold-blooded mammal in existence.

These interesting factors are certainly worth discussion, but we’re not only looking at the naked mole-rat for its unique appearance but for its relationship to cancer. Actually, it may be more of a lack of a relationship to this dreaded disease that interests us. You see, the naked mole-rat is largely immune to cancer and some forms of pain. That makes it one of the most interesting animals in the world.

A Mammal Related to Insects

This animal isn’t the only one that spends much of its life underground in tunnels. Moles that we sometimes experience burrowing and tearing up our yards are known to spend their lives in the dark as well. Something that makes this African tunnel-dweller more interesting is the social network that it keeps. Unlike many mammals that may have pairings of males and females, we see a society that’s more similar to insects.

Colonies of naked mole-rats often number 100 or more, and these groups are headed by a sole breeding female, the queen. This part is similar to insects, but the way the colony is maintained is much different. The queen in an insect colony uses pheromones to command the males, while the female naked mole-rat uses physical aggression to keep the males working, digging, foraging, and defending the network of tunnels that she commands.

Research is Underway

Scientists are currently studying these incredible animals to see what makes them impervious to some diseases and the pain that we feel. Their resistance to cancer is extremely interesting, especially since this is a disease that’s diagnosed in humans every two minutes. Currently, there are only a few documented cases of studies using a naked mole-rat with cancer, but scientists are hopeful they can unlock the secrets of these animals and synthesize the same effects in humans. Until that time, there are some interesting things we know about these amazingly ugly and strange animals.

Impervious to Specific Chemicals

We sometimes like to torture ourselves with hot and spicy foods or tart and tangy tastes. While the taste of chili peppers and acid from lemon juice can give us flavors we like in some foods, they don’t have any impact on the naked mole-rat at all. While not sure why this animal doesn’t react to the spicy elements of chili peppers, we do know a bit about the acid insensitivity that is interesting.

The pain-sensing nerves of this animal can turn the acid from lemons and vinegar into an anesthetic instead of being something that they would find tart or distasteful. This means that instead of feeling pain, the acid can numb the nerves and makes the area pain-free.

How Can these Pain Stimuli be Used?

Studies are underway to learn whether or not the pain receptors and chemicals in the naked mole-rat can aid the human pain system. This could be helpful to cancer patients and others that suffer from arthritis. The cause of much of the pain for these individuals is the result of a build-up of acid in the tissue, which is a major contributor to chronic pain.

The molecule that allows the mole-rat to be insensitive to acid is found in human genes and could be altered to alter the pain receptors. This could be a huge step forward in the development of painkillers that are used to treat patients with cancer and arthritis.

Could We Unlock the Secret to Living Longer?

Not only could the naked mole-rat be used to help cure cancer in the future, but there might also be something in their makeup that allows us to learn how to make people live longer. Typically, the life expectancy of a mammal is related to its body size. We have seen lab mice live about three years at the most. These mole-rats weigh twice that, which means they should only live about six years. Typically, these animals have lived more than 30 years in captivity. For reference, that’s more than polar bears and giraffes.

An Interesting Animal with the Secrets We Want to Know

While the naked mole-rat offers a comical and ugly appearance, it just might hold the secret to curing cancer, reducing pain, and living longer. Could this small, burrowing, cold-blooded mammal be the one that has the secrets we want to unlock and understand? Only further research will tell us the truth that we seek from this odd little animal.