A SINGLE gene mutation allows worms to survive at oxygen levels low enough to kill their normal relatives. The finding points to possible new strategies to prevent cells being damaged when a stroke or heart attack interrupts their oxygen supply.
Michael Crowder and colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, found that worms with a mutated version of the gene rrt-1 recovered fully after 20 hours in a hypoxic, or low oxygen, environment. What’s more, normal worms subjected to milder hypoxia, which would normally kill them a few hours later, were more likely to survive when treated afterwards with an agent that suppresses rrt-1 (Science, ). Crowder hopes that suppressing the human equivalent of this gene soon after a heart attack or stroke might help people recover.
The rrt-1 gene normally regulates the expression of a variety of proteins, so mutating or suppressing it slashes protein production. Crowder suspects this is at the root of the beneficial effect in worms, as hypoxic cells tend to make proteins that don’t fold properly and are therefore toxic.
Advertisement
