Lifespan, Cold-inducible RNA-Binding Protein (CIRBP), and Bowhead Whales

    This morning at ARDD2021, Prof. Vera Gorbunova (U. Rochester) gave a paradigm-shifting talk about the mechanism behind maximum lifespan.  The human maximum lifespan is about 120 years.  For bowhead whales, the maximum lifespan is 211 years.  The question Prof. Gorbunova's group is investigating is this: what is the genomic difference between human and bowhead whales that confers such a long lifespan on them?

    Is it cancer suppression?  No.  In humans, it requires 5 mutation hits to start a cancer, in mice it takes only 2 hits, while in bowhead whales it takes 4 hits.  Humans are better protected from cancer mutations than are whales.

    The answer emerging from their research seems to be that bowhead whales over-express an enzyme called cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRBP), which among other things aggressively repairs double-breaks in DNA.  Humans have CIRBP, but in smaller concentrations.  Gorbunova argued that one can roughly correlate the concentration of CIRBP present in various species with their maximum lifespans.

    This raises an interesting antiaging question: How can we get more CIRBP into our bloodstreams?  Cold shock stimulates the production of CIPRB, so one could jump into an ice-water bath every morning, but I think I’ll pass on that one.  In the mode of the Pfizer/Moderna COVID vaccines, one could inject properly-coded mRNA to create CIRBP, but that enzyme burst would last only a few days.  In the mode of the J&J COVID vaccine, one could inject a tame adenovirus that would embed the CIRBP coding in our DNA, but the immune system would probably not allow cells with such modified DNA to last for very long.   Maybe gene insertion with CRISPR would do the job.  Or perhaps there are drugs yet to be discovered that would promote the expression of CIRBP.

    This raises another interesting question: do the super-centinerians among us have more CIRBP in their bloodstreams than the rest of us.  Someone should check that out.

    In any case, there seems to be a new opportunity in the antiaging field, one that perhaps uniquely offers the prospect of extending the maximum human lifespan beyond 120 years.  Work on it, guys!