New anti-aging secrets discovered from the world’s longest-lived vertebrate

New experimental research indicates that metabolic activity of muscles may be a key factor in the extraordinary longevity of the Greenland shark, the world’s oldest vertebrate species. These findings may have applications in protecting this vulnerable species against climate change and even in human cardiovascular health.

The Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) is the longest-lived vertebrate animal, with an expected lifespan of at least 270 years and possibly more than 500 years.

“We want to understand what adaptations they have that enable them to live such long lives,” says Euan Camplison, a doctoral student at the University of Manchester, UK.

Previously, it was thought that this longevity was due to the cold environment the sharks live in and minimal movement, but the factors behind this species’ extreme longevity appear to be much more complicated, leading Camplison and his team to investigate alternative theories.

“Most species experience changes in their metabolism as they age,” Camplison said, “and we want to determine whether Greenland sharks also show these traditional signs of aging, or whether their metabolism remains constant over time.”

To measure the sharks’ metabolism, Camplison and his team performed enzyme analyses on preserved muscle tissue samples from Greenland sharks. They measured the metabolic activity of these enzymes using a spectrophotometer across a range of shark ages and environmental temperatures.

Surprisingly, Camplison and his team found no significant changes in muscle metabolic activity with age, suggesting that metabolism does not decline over time and may play an important role in longevity.

“This is quite different from most animals, which tend to show some changes in metabolic enzyme activity as they age,” he says, “and supports our hypothesis that Greenland sharks do not show the same signs of aging as other animals.”

The results of this study also show that metabolic enzymes in Greenland sharks are significantly more active at high temperatures.

“This suggests that the metabolism of shark red muscle is not specifically adapted to polar environments, otherwise we would expect temperature-related differences in activity to be less significant,” Camplison said.

In a world with a rapidly changing climate, long-lived species with poor adaptations may be most at risk of extinction.

“Female Greenland sharks may not reach sexual maturity until they are 150 years old, and the long generation period means this species will have much less opportunity to adapt to anthropogenic changes in its environment,” Camplison said.

Camplison plans to test more enzymes and tissue types to gain a better understanding of the shark’s metabolic activity.

“My ultimate goal is to conserve this species, and the best way to do that is to understand it better,” he says.

Camplison is also interested in how this research can help us understand heart disease in humans. “By studying Greenland sharks and their hearts, we may be able to better understand our own cardiovascular health,” he says. “These problems become increasingly common and severe as we age.”

The research will be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Meeting, which will take place in Prague from 2-5 July 2024.