New research led by University of Wyoming Laramie provides additional evidence that tardigrade proteins could ultimately be used to provide life-saving treatments to people for whom refrigeration is not possible and to enhance storage of cell-based treatments.
Sanchez Martinez other. We provide insight into how tardigrades induce reversible biostasis through self-assembly of labile CAHS gels.
First discovered in 1773, tardigrades are a diverse group of microscopic invertebrates best known for their ability to survive in extreme conditions.
Also known as tardigrades or moss piglets, these creatures can live up to 60 years, grow to a maximum size of 0.5 mm, and are best seen under a microscope.
They can survive temperatures as low as -272 degrees Celsius (-457 degrees Fahrenheit) or as high as -150 degrees Celsius (-302 degrees Fahrenheit), and temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celsius for several minutes, and for up to 30 years without food or water. Masu. Minus 4 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit) continues for decades.
Tardigrades can withstand pressures from nearly 0 atmospheres in space to 1,200 atmospheres at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and radiation levels of up to 5,000 to 6,200 Gy.
They survive by entering a state of suspended animation called biostasis, using proteins that form gels within their cells and slow down life processes.
“Surprisingly, when you introduce these proteins into cells, they gel and slow down their metabolism, much like tardigrades do,” says researcher Sylvia Sánchez Martinez, Ph.D., of the University of Wyoming, Laramie.
“Furthermore, just like tardigrades, putting human cells with these proteins into biostasis makes them more resistant to stress, giving human cells some of the tardigrade's abilities.”
“Importantly, our study shows that the entire process is reversible,” said researcher Thomas Boothby, Ph.D., of the University of Wyoming, Laramie.
“When stress is reduced, the tardigrade gel dissolves and human cells return to normal metabolism.”
“Our findings provide an avenue to pursue technologies centered on inducing biostasis in cells and even whole organisms to slow aging and increase shelf life and stability.”
of findings appear in the diary protein science.
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S. Sanchez Martinez other. 2024. Unstable assembly of tardigrade proteins induces homeostasis. protein science 33 (4): e4941; doi: 10.1002/pro.4941
Source: www.sci.news
