Elephants may hold the key to curing cancer, according to new research

Elephants may hold the key to curing cancer because genes include an army of tumor-fighting proteins, according to new research.

Scientists say the tumor-fighting proteins they carry can destroy mutated cells.

This may explain why the world’s largest land animals are a fifth more likely to develop cancer than humans.

Using elephant genes could lead to a “universal” therapy for one of the world’s biggest killers.

“This complex and intriguing study shows just how many elephants have more than impressive sizes, and how important it is to study in detail and protect these distinctive animals.” Masu, said Professor Fritz Volrath, co-author of the study. Oxford University.

“After all, their genetics and physiology are driven by evolutionary history, just like today’s ecology, diet and behavior.

Despite their 5-ton body and long lifespan, elephants are highly resistant to cancer with a mortality rate of less than 5% compared to up to 25% in humans.

This is a phenomenon that has baffled biologists for decades, since cells are constantly dividing throughout the life of the organism and each one is at risk of developing a tumor, so larger organisms should have a higher cancer risk.

However, the elephant inherits 40 versions of the gene called P53 and inherits 20 from each parent. Called the “guardian of the genome”, it hunts down and kills cells with faulty DNA.

All other mammals have only two of these resistance genes from each parent.

Biochemical analyzes and computer simulations have also shown that the Elephant 40 version is structurally slightly different and offers a much broader range of anticancer activity.

“This is an exciting breakthrough in understanding how p53 can help prevent cancer development,” said Professor Robin Farreus, another co-author from the French National Institute of Health Sciences.

“In humans, the same p53 protein plays a role in the decision to stop cell proliferation or transition to apoptosis (suicide), but it is difficult to understand how p53 makes this decision…

“The presence of multiple p53 types with different interaction abilities in elephants provides an exciting new approach to shed new light on tumor suppressor activity.”

The findings, published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, shed new light on how the p53 protein is activated.

These proteins open the door to the development of drugs that can increase susceptibility and response to the environment that causes cancer.

Dr. Constantinos Calakostis of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​lead author of this study, said: ..High potential value for biomedical applications.

The elephant, which is prized for its ivory, is endangered by poachers.

Their numbers have dropped significantly over the past century, leaving only 400,000 in Africa and around 30,000 in Asia.

A century ago, they were common on both continents. Elephants also face additional threats from habitat loss and global warming.