2023-12-04 13:00:00
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Affectionate and playful, the golden retriever is one of the most popular dog breeds today; but unfortunately, they are ephemeral companions: their average life expectancy ranges between 10 and 12 years, and around 65% of them die from cancer. It is the third dog breed with the highest risk of suffering from this disease, but it could be that its genes also carry the key to facing it.
A research group from the University of California at Davis (USA) has carried out a study on the incidence of cancer in golden retrievers and has discovered something that could help investigate the disease not only in this breed of dog, but also in other dogs. sometimes even in humans: a particular variation of a gene which our species also possesses.
Video: What you should know about Golden Retrievers
The particular HER4 gene
“We assume that most golden retrievers have a genetic predisposition to cancer, but if some of them live to be 14, 15 or 16 years old, we think there could be another genetic factor that is helping to mitigate the bad genes, and We have discovered that this gene is HER4”. This is explained by Robert Rebhun, a specialist in veterinary medicine and one of the researchers who developed the study published in the journal GeroScience.
The research team analyzed the DNA of 304 golden retrievers, paying special attention to those who had reached or surpassed 14 years of age and those who had died before the age of 12. What they discovered is that the oldest dogs they had in common a particular variant of the ERBB4/HER4 geneor simply HER4: all of them lived at least two years longer than the average for this breed, which represents an increase of between 15 and 20% in their life expectancy.
Nationwide
This table shows the various types of cancer that affect dogs and the average age at which they usually appear.
The HER4 gene is involved in the production of a protein related to the growth of the epidermis: the receptor tyrosine kinase, which sends signals to cells to reproduce. For this reason, it is related to the uncontrolled cell multiplication that characterizes cancer. Other similar genes are associated with specific types of cancer, such as breast cancer; in addition to other diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which the physicist Stephen Hawking suffered from.
Golden retriever, the curious origins of a popular pet
Optimistic but cautious
The identification of this gene as a potential cancer prevention agent may have important repercussions, although researchers are cautious about this. There are multiple factors that intervene in cancer and the authors point out that more studies should be done to determine the real extent of this gene in the predisposition to the disease and that, above all, they should be carried out with a broader population of dogs.
In particular, the team wanted to point out a variable that they consider significant, and that is that the influence of this gene on the appearance and development of cancer seems to be more important in females than in males. This is apparently due to two factors: the first is that the HER4 gene has a specific marker that only manifests itself in females, and the second is that the receptor tyrosine kinase interacts with estrogens, a group of hormones related to development. of female sexual characteristics, such as breasts; Therefore, females are more affected in case of variations in the HER4 gene.
“Dogs suffer from many of the same cancers that also affect humans, which makes this discovery also important for our species,” says Robert Rebhun, who is hopeful about the possibilities that the study opens up. “If we find that this HER4 variant is important in the formation or progression of cancer in golden retrievers, or if it can actually modify the risk of cancer in this cancer-predisposed population, that is something that can be used in future cancer studies. in humans.”
Despite the unknowns that remain, researchers are optimistic. “There will be many genes involved, but the fact that the gene associated with longevity is also a gene involved in cancer It was really interesting for us,” says Dr. Danika Bannarsch, co-author of the study.
Why do large breed dogs tend to live shorter lives?
The implications of genetic study for golden retrievers and other breeds
Regardless of the progress of scientific research, if it is confirmed that this gene is really involved in the appearance and development of cancer, it would have important implications for the breeding of golden retrievers and possibly other breeds also predisposed to cancer. One of the dangers of selective breeding is that inbreeding, by limiting the genetic variety in a population, “fixes” certain diseases in a breed. There is four breeds in particular with a high risk of cancer; They are, in this order: boxer, beagle, golden retriever and rottweiler.
Nationwide
This table, according to a study prepared by the Nationwide insurance group, shows the predisposition of various races to suffer from cancer. Nine are above average and four of them have a considerably higher risk.
To mitigate this risk, some breeders try expand the pool genetic by crossing various variants of the same breed. The golden retriever has three lineages or “types” (English, American and Canadian) that present some differences in appearance, as a result of the introduction of different breeds in the breeding process: therefore, by crossing individuals it is possible to expand the genetic range. and reduce the risk of cancer becoming “fixed” in the genes of the offspring.
Identifying a gene involved in cancer opens up a much more effective possibility, that of performing genetic analyzes on individuals to breed those who present the HER4 variant that makes them more resistant to the disease. In a few generations this could dramatically decrease the incidence of cancer in a breed, increasing their overall life expectancy. Dr. Bannarsch points out that “two years for a golden retriever represents an increase of 15 or 20% in its life expectancy, the equivalent of 12 or 14 years for a person. “Wouldn’t we all want our beloved pets to live two more years?”
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