At more than 200 years, the maximum lifespan of the bowhead whale exceeds that of all other mammals. The bowhead is also the second-largest animal on Earth¹, reaching over 80,000 kg. Despite its very large number of cells and long lifespan, the bowhead is not highly cancer-prone, an incongruity termed Peto’s paradox². Here, to understand the mechanisms that underlie the cancer resistance of the bowhead whale, we examined the number of oncogenic hits required for malignant transformation of whale primary fibroblasts. Unexpectedly, bowhead whale fibroblasts required fewer oncogenic hits to undergo malignant transformation than human fibroblasts. However, bowhead whale cells exhibited enhanced DNA double-strand break repair capacity and fidelity, and lower mutation rates than cells of other mammals. We found the cold-inducible RNA-binding protein CIRBP to be highly expressed in bowhead fibroblasts and tissues. Bowhead whale CIRBP enhanced both non-homologous end joining and homologous recombination repair in human cells, reduced micronuclei formation, promoted DNA end protection, and stimulated end joining in vitro. CIRBP overexpression in Drosophila extended lifespan and improved resistance to irradiation. These findings provide evidence supporting the hypothesis that, rather than relying on additional tumour suppressor genes to prevent oncogenesis^3,4,5, the bowhead whale maintains genome integrity through enhanced DNA repair. This strategy, which does not eliminate damaged cells but faithfully repairs them, may be contributing to the exceptional longevity and low cancer incidence in the bowhead whale.

Background: Recent findings indicate that the host microbiome can have a significant impact on the development of lung cancer by inducing an inflammatory response, causing dysbiosis, and generating genome damage. The aim of this study was to search for bacterial communities specifically associated with squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Methods: In this study, the taxonomic composition of the sputum microbiome of 40 men with untreated LUSC was compared with that of 40 healthy controls. Next-Generation sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes was used to determine the taxonomic composition of the respiratory microbiome. Results: There were no differences in alpha diversity between the LUSC and control groups. Meanwhile, differences in the structure of bacterial communities (β diversity) among patients and controls differed significantly in sputum samples (pseudo-F = 1.53; p = 0.005). Genera of Streptococcus, Bacillus, Gemella, and Haemophilus were found to be significantly enriched in patients with LUSC compared to the control subjects, while 19 bacterial genera were significantly reduced, indicating a decrease in beta diversity in the microbiome of patients with LUSC. Conclusions: Among other candidates, Streptococcus (Streptococcus agalactiae) emerges as the most likely LUSC biomarker, but more research is needed to confirm this assumption.

Coal miners are exposed to a wide range of genotoxic agents that can induce genome damage. In addition, miners are characterised by a high risk of the initiation of different occupational inflammatory as well as non-inflammatory diseases. The aim of this investigation is to analyse the modifying influence of occupational pulmonary inflammatory diseases on the level of chromosome aberrations (CAs) in miners working in underground coal mines in Kemerovo Region (Russian Federation). The study group included 90 coal miners with the following pulmonary diseases: chronic dust-induced bronchitis (CDB) and coal-workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP) (mean age = 53.52±2.95 years; mean work experience in coal-mining conditions = 27.70±3.61 years). As a population control (control 1), we have used venous blood extracted from 124 healthy unexposed men. The mean age in this group was 50.92±4.56 years. Control 2 was the venous blood extracted from 42 healthy coal miners (mean age = 51.56±6.38 years; mean work experience in coal-mining conditions = 25.43±8.14 years). We have discovered that coal miners are characterised by an increased general level of CAs as well as an increased frequency of several types of CAs. The significant increase in the frequency of aberration per 100 cells and aberration of chromosome type was discovered in the group of pulmonary disease patients (study group). No correlations of the level of chromosome damage with age, smoking status and work experience in coal-mining conditions were discovered.

Particulate matter (PM) <10 μm in size represents an extremely heterogeneous and variable group of objects that can penetrate the human respiratory tract. The present study aimed to isolate samples of coarse and ultrafine PM at some distance from polluting industries (1–1.5 km from the border of open-cast mines). PM was collected from snow samples which allowed the accumulation of a relatively large amount of ultrafine particles (UFPs) (50–60 mg) from five objects: three open-cast mines, coal power plants, and control territories. The chemical composition of PM was examined using absorption spectroscopy, luminescence spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses of solid particle material samples. Toxicity was assessed in human MRC-5 lung fibroblasts after 6 h of in vitro exposure to PM samples. The absorption spectra of all the samples contained a wide non-elementary absorption band with a maximum of 270 nm. This band is usually associated with the absorption of dissolved organic matter (DOM). The X-ray fluorescence spectra of all the studied samples showed intense lines of calcium and potassium and less intense lines of silicon, sulfur, chlorine, and titanium. The proliferation of MRC-5 cells that were exposed to PM_0.1 samples was significantly (p < 0.01) lower than that of MRC-5 cells exposed to PM₁₀ at the same concentration, except for PM samples obtained from the control point. PM_0.1 samples—even those that were collected from control territories—showed increased genotoxicity (micronucleus, ‰) compared to PM₁₀. The study findings suggest that UFPs deserve special attention as a biological agent, distinct from larger PMs.

Anthracosilicosis (AS), a prevalent form of pneumoconiosis among coal miners, results from the accumulation of carbon and silica in the lungs from inhaled coal dust. This study investigated genotoxic effects and certain cytokine genes polymorphic variants in Russian coal miners with АS. Peripheral leukocytes were sampled from 129 patients with AS confirmed by X-ray and tissue biopsy and from 164 asymptomatic coal miners. Four single-nucleotide polymorphisms were genotyped in the extracted DNA samples: IL1β T-511C (rs16944), IL6 C-174G (rs1800795), IL12b A1188C (rs3212227) and VEGFA C634G (rs2010963). Genotoxic effects were assessed by the analysis of chromosome aberrations in cultured peripheral lymphocytes. The mean frequency of chromatid-type aberrations and chromosome-type aberrations, namely, chromatid-type breaks and dicentric chromosomes, was found to be higher in AS patients [3.70 (95% confidence interval {CI}, 3.29–4.10) and 0.28 (95% CI, 0.17–0.38)] compared to the control group [2.41 (95% CI, 2.00–2.82) and 0.09 (95% CI, 0.03–0.15)], respectively. IL1β gene T/T genotype (rs16944) was associated with AS [17.83% in AS patients against 4.35% in healthy donors, odds ratio = 4.77 (1.88–12.15), P < 0.01]. A significant increase in the level of certain chromosome interchanges among AS donors is of interest because such effects are typical for radiation damage and caused by acute oxidative stress. IL1β T allele probably may be considered as an AS susceptibility factor among coal miners.