Teeth Can Preserve Antibodies for Centuries, Opening New Doors for Historical Disease Study
In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have found that teeth have the remarkable ability to preserve antibodies for hundreds of years. This exciting development may offer researchers an invaluable resource for delving into the history of infectious diseases in humans.
Antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system to combat pathogens such as viruses and bacteria. They play a crucial role in identifying and neutralizing these harmful microorganisms to protect the body.
The recent study, published in the journal iScience, examined antibodies extracted from 800-year-old medieval human teeth. Astonishingly, the researchers discovered that these ancient antibodies remained stable and retained the ability to recognize viral proteins.
Led by Professor Robert Layfield and research technician Barry Shaw from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham, in collaboration with Professor Anisur Rahman and Dr. Thomas McDonnell from the Department of Medicine at University College London, the study expands the field of palaeoproteomics, the study of ancient proteins. This breakthrough could potentially allow experts to explore how human antibody responses evolved throughout history.
Palaeoproteomics has already proven its ability to unravel the past, with successful recovery and identification of ancient proteins preserved in dental enamel from a 1.7-million-year-old rhinoceros and an over 6.5-million-year-old ostrich eggshell. In this latest study, the researchers also found promising evidence that mammoth bones nearly 40,000 years old may also preserve stable antibodies, similar to the medieval human teeth.
Previous applications of this science by the Nottingham team involved the analysis of disease-associated proteins from ancient human bones and teeth. This enabled them to identify an unusual ancient variation of Paget’s disease, a skeletal disorder.
Professor Layfield expressed his surprise at the findings, stating, “In discovery science, we come to expect the unexpected, but the realization that intact, functional antibodies can be purified from skeletal remains in the archaeological record was quite astonishing. Some ancient proteins were known to be stable, but these tend to be ‘structural’ proteins such as collagens and keratins, that are pretty inert.”
Professor Rahman added, “Antibodies are different because we are able to test whether they can still do their job of recognizing viruses or bacteria even after hundreds of years. In this case, we found that antibodies from medieval teeth were able to recognize the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes glandular fever. In the future, it could be possible to look at how antibodies from ancient specimens react to diseases present during those periods, such as the Black Death.”
This landmark study, titled “Preservation of whole antibodies within ancient teeth,” was authored by Barry Shaw, Thomas McDonnell, Elizabeth Radley, Brian Thomas, Lynn Smith, Carol Davenport, Silvia Gonzalez, Anisur Rahman, and Rob Layfield. The researchers envision a future where the analysis of antibodies from ancient specimens can shed light on the diseases that plagued humanity throughout history.
This extraordinary finding holds immense potential for unlocking the secrets of our past and gaining deeper insights into the evolution and impact of infectious diseases. Scientists now have a powerful tool at their disposal, hidden within the dental records of our ancestors, allowing them to piece together the puzzle of human health throughout the ages.
Reference: “Preservation of whole antibodies within ancient teeth” by Barry Shaw, Thomas McDonnell, Elizabeth Radley, Brian Thomas, Lynn Smith, Carol Davenport, Silvia Gonzalez, Anisur Rahman and Rob Layfield, 9 August 2023, iScience.
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107575