Researchers have discovered that proteins from tardigrades, known for surviving extreme conditions, can slow molecular processes in human cells, offering promising applications in aging research and cell storage. This finding paves the way for developing new technologies to enhance human health and treat diseases.
Researchers at the University of Wyoming have advanced our understanding of how tardigrades survive extreme conditions and shown that proteins from the microscopic creatures expressed in human cells can slow down molecular processes.
This makes the tardigrade proteins potential candidates in technologies centered on slowing the aging process and in long-term storage of human cells.
The new study, published in the journal Protein Science, examines the mechanisms used by tardigrades to enter and exit from suspended animation when faced by environmental stress. Led by Senior Research Scientist Silvia Sanchez-Martinez in the lab of UW Department of Molecular Biology Assistant Professor Thomas Boothby, the research provides additional evidence that tardigrade proteins eventually could be used to make life-saving treatments available to people where refrigeration is not possible — and enhance storage of cell-based therapies, such as stem cells.
Measuring less than half a millimeter long, tardigrades — also known as water bears — can survive being completely dried out; being frozen to just above
University of Wyoming Senior Research Scientist Silvia Sanchez-Martinez, left, and Department of Molecular Biology Assistant Professor Thomas Boothby led new research providing additional evidence that tardigrade proteins eventually could be used to make life-saving treatments available to people where refrigeration is not possible. Credit: Vindya Kumara
Research Findings and Future Directions
They survive by entering a state of suspended animation called biostasis, using proteins that form gels inside of cells and slow down life processes, according to the new UW-led research. Co-authors of the study are from institutions including the Related
