A protein produced by tardigrades, a microscopic organism, holds the potential to reduce the effects of radiation therapy for cancer patients.
Tardigrades, also known as water bears, have a remarkable ability to withstand extreme environmental conditions, such as temperature, pressure and radiation (up to 3,000 times higher than human tolerance), and even exposure to outer space.
US researchers, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Iowa, focused on a unique protein produced by tardigrades called a damage-suppressor protein (Dsup), which plays a key role in the tardigrade’s resilience to high doses of radiation.
The mRNA of this protein was injected into mice (see video), in either their cheek or rectum, so that the animals produced Dsup, and when they were then exposed to radiation, the researchers saw that the DNA damage from the radiation was reduced by half.
The study, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, also showed that the effects of Dsup did not spread beyond the injected areas – an important aspect to ensure its protective effects do not extend to parts of the body where it is unwanted.
This makes the approach potentially applicable for cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy, which can often be hard to tolerate and can affect neighbouring, healthy tissues.
Giovanni Traverso, at MIT, said: “Radiation can be very helpful for many tumours, but we also recognise that the side effects can be limiting."