Laboratory mice and rats are traditionally used as model organisms to study the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis. However, these cancer-prone models have limitations in understanding the mechanisms of cancer resistance. Certain long-lived mammalian species such as naked mole rats seem to have evolved unique anti-cancer mechanisms. Understanding how these animals are protected from cancer could open new doors for preventing cancer in humans. Although bats are well-adapted to their environment and show extraordinary longevity, few studies have investigated their anticancer properties. In a new study, Hua et al. investigated cancer resistance across seven bat species by activating oncogenic genes in their primary cells. Both in vitro experiments and xenograft mouse models indicated that fibroblasts of the big-footed bat (Myotis pilosus) are resistant to malignant transformation. Additionally, transcriptomic and functional analyses revealed that downregulation of HIF1A, COPS5, and RPS3 largely contributes to cancer resistance in this species, providing new insights into the mechanisms of cancer resistance in mammals.

Original reference: Hua, R. et al. Nat. Commun. 15, 1401 (2024)

实验室小鼠和大鼠传统上被用作模型生物来研究致癌的分子机制。然而，这些易患癌症的模型在理解癌症抵抗机制方面存在局限性。某些长寿的哺乳动物物种，例如裸鼹鼠，似乎已经进化出独特的抗癌机制。了解这些动物如何预防癌症可能为预防人类癌症打开新的大门。尽管蝙蝠能够很好地适应环境并表现出非凡的长寿，但很少有研究调查它们的抗癌特性。在一项新研究中，Hua 等人。通过激活原代细胞中的致癌基因，研究了七种蝙蝠的癌症抵抗力。体外实验和异种移植小鼠模型均表明，大足蝙蝠（Myotis pilosus）的成纤维细胞具有抗恶性转化的能力。此外，转录组和功能分析表明，HIF1A、COPS5和RPS3的下调很大程度上有助于该物种的抗癌性，这为哺乳动物抗癌机制提供了新的见解。

原始参考： Hua, R. et al.纳特。交流。15 , 1401 (2024)