2020
DOI: 10.1007/s00359-020-01414-w
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Independent evolution of pain insensitivity in African mole-rats: origins and mechanisms

Abstract: The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is famous for its longevity and unusual physiology. This eusocial species that lives in highly ordered and hierarchical colonies with a single breeding queen, also discovered secrets enabling somewhat pain-free living around 20 million years ago. Unlike most mammals, naked mole-rats do not feel the burn of chili pepper's active ingredient, capsaicin, nor the sting of acid. Indeed, by accumulating mutations in genes encoding proteins that are only now being exploited a… Show more

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Cited by 12 publications
(4 citation statements)
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References 124 publications
(194 reference statements)
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“…This may be because they frequently experience peripheral tissue acidosis due to the high CO2 concentrations found in their burrows, potentially making acid-based nociception maladaptive for this species (E. St. J. Smith et al, 2020). Genomic data on insect genes associated with 'pain' suggests both loss and expansion events in different taxa (though no taxa have been shown to be without the genes for any nociceptive ion channels; Goldberg et al, 2023), highlighting the need for more research across the insects.…”
Section: Revisiting 1984mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…This may be because they frequently experience peripheral tissue acidosis due to the high CO2 concentrations found in their burrows, potentially making acid-based nociception maladaptive for this species (E. St. J. Smith et al, 2020). Genomic data on insect genes associated with 'pain' suggests both loss and expansion events in different taxa (though no taxa have been shown to be without the genes for any nociceptive ion channels; Goldberg et al, 2023), highlighting the need for more research across the insects.…”
Section: Revisiting 1984mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Thus, to our knowledge, there is no published literature arguing against a role for Aδ fibres in naked mole‐rat nociception. To clarify these issues better, we refer readers to a recent and extensive review of published data on naked mole‐rat nociception (Smith, Park & Lewin, 2020 ).…”
Section: Sensory Ecologymentioning
confidence: 99%
“…There are quite legitimate concerns among many researchers raising the question of whether mechanisms of aging identified in short-lived mammals, such as mice or rats, adequately reflect the complexity of longevity pathways that regulate aging in long-lived species like humans (Dammann, 2017). Naked mole rats (NMRs, Heterocephalus glaber) are long-lived rodents possessing remarkable resistance to spontaneous carcinogenesis, certain noxious stimuli and hypoxia and maintain sustained healthy life-span span for over 30 years (Buffenstein, 2005, Gorbunova et al, 2014, Seluanov et al, 2018, Smith et al, 2020. Comparative genome analyses have revealed that the NMR genome shows higher similarity (93% synteny) to the human genome compared to that of mice (83%) or rats (80%) (Gladyshev et al, 2011, Kim et al, 2011.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%