Bats could play key role in curing cancer: Oxford U study

Bats get a deadly bad rap — but they could play a life-saving role in cancer treatment, according to a “fascinating new study” that examines their remarkable immune systems.

As documented in peer-reviewed research in Genome Biology and Evolution, published Thursday by Oxford University Press, scientists from New York hope that by better understanding the winged-creatures’ extraordinary ability to both host and survive infections, they can develop ways to treat — and prevent — cancer in humans.

Despite their long lifespans — they can live from 20-to-41 years — bats rarely get cancer and some species contain over 50 unique genes that may make them immune to tumors.

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Long Island found genetic adaptations in six DNA repair-related proteins and 46 proteins in bats that were cancer-related, meaning that researchers have previously found that such proteins suppress cancer.

“By generating these new bat genomes and comparing them to other mammals we continue to find extraordinary new adaptations in antiviral and anticancer genes,” said lead study author Armin Scheben in a statement. “These investigations are the first step towards translating research on the unique biology of bats into insights relevant to understanding and treating aging and diseases, such as cancer, in humans.”

Notably, the study found these altered cancer-related genes were enriched more than two-fold in the bat group compared to other mammals.

Bats are exceptional among mammals for not only their ability to fly but also their long lives, low cancer rates and robust immune systems, as reported in prior studies. The oft-demonized species is also thought to have played a role in the emergence of COVID-19.

The ability of bats to tolerate such viral infections may “stem from unusual features of their innate immune response,” researchers found.

Researchers called for further studies to increase the medical community’s understanding of how the bat immune system actually works. Armed with knowledge of what allows the species to tolerate deadly viral infections, researchers said they “may be better able to prevent disease outbreaks from animals to people.”

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Comparative gene analyses of bats and mammals could eventually provide new information on the causes of cancer and the links between cancer and immunity, according to researchers, as studies of bats and other organisms complement studies based on mouse models.

However, although mice are more amenable than bats to experimental manipulation, they exhibit fewer characteristics with implications for human disease — so bats could be where it’s really at.