Natural resistance to cancers in long-lived mammals: genomic mechanisms and experimental evidence to explain Peto's paradox.

Abstract

Long-lived mammals are reported to have rare or considerably fewer instances of spontaneous tumors, suggesting they might have evolved specific or convergent mechanisms of cancer resistance to extend lifespan; however, the underlying mechanisms remain insufficiently explored. Here, we conducted comparative analysis across 60 mammalian genomes to investigate the genomic features associated with natural cancer resistance. We identified 296 strongly selected genes unique to long-lived species and associated with immune response, DNA repair, and cancer, which might contribute to cancer resistance and lifespan extension in long-lived species. Further, 229 convergent cancer-related genes were detected in the four extremely long-lived species and in-vitro assays confirmed a convergent mutation of LZTS1, shared by bowhead whales and naked mole rats, could suppress cancer development. Importantly, 16 genes were significantly related to both body weight and cancer, defined as candidate genes of Peto's paradox. Of them, the YAP1 gene, harboring the A214S mutation, was identified as a key gene that upregulated tumor suppression genes by localizing to the cytoplasm, which might prohibit cancer development in the large and long-lived cetaceans. These findings provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying natural cancer resistance in long-lived mammals and the biological basis of Peto's paradox.