The transcriptome landscape of the carcinogenic treatment response in the blind mole rat: insights into cancer resistance mechanisms.

Background: Spalax, the blind mole rat, developed an extraordinary cancer resistance during 40 million years of evolution in a subterranean, hypoxic, thus DNA damaging, habitat. In 50 years of Spalax research, no spontaneous cancer development has been observed. The mechanisms underlying this resistance are still not clarified.

Resistance to DNA damage and enhanced DNA repair capacity in the hypoxia-tolerant blind mole rat .

Blind mole rats of the genus are the only mammalian species to date for which spontaneous cancer has never been reported and resistance to carcinogen-induced cancers has been demonstrated. However, the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. The fact that spp.

Adaptive patterns in the p53 protein sequence of the hypoxia- and cancer-tolerant blind mole rat Spalax.

Background: The subterranean blind mole rat, Spalax (genus Nannospalax) endures extreme hypoxic conditions and fluctuations in oxygen levels that threaten DNA integrity. Nevertheless, Spalax is long-lived, does not develop spontaneous cancer, and exhibits an outstanding resistance to carcinogenesis in vivo, as well as anti-cancer capabilities in vitro. We hypothesized that adaptations to similar extreme environmental conditions involve common mechanisms for overcoming stress-induced DNA damage.

Transcription pattern of p53-targeted DNA repair genes in the hypoxia-tolerant subterranean mole rat Spalax.

The tumor suppressor gene p53 induces growth arrest and/or apoptosis in response to DNA damage/hypoxia. Inactivation of p53 confers a selective advantage to tumor cells under a hypoxic microenvironment during tumor progression. The subterranean blind mole rat, Spalax, spends its life underground at low-oxygen tensions, hence developing a wide range of respiratory/molecular adaptations to hypoxic stress, including critical changes in p53 structure and signaling pathway.