Hundreds of genes remain active after the body dies

When the human heart and brain are no longer fighting for life, the respiratory and circulatory systems have to stop, that is the moment of death. The body has renounced the world, there is no life. But what else?

Two recent studies have mentioned evidence that certain parts of the body are still active after many days, even when most other organs have stopped working. And this can change the way we think about organ transplants and autopsies.

Led by microbiologist Peter Noble, a team at the University of Washington conducted genetic testing in dead mice and zebrafish. A previous study has identified a number of genes in the corpse who are still active for more than 12 hours after death.

The researchers ended the test by identifying more than 1000 genes that were still active even days after the host died. However, different from our thinking about how genes only try to hold against other parts of the body, genes increase their activity.

In rats, 515 genes were seen starting to function and working at full capacity until 24 hours after the host died. Meanwhile, zebrafish has 548 genes that retain the function of genes up to four days after the host dies without showing signs of decline.

The team discovered this by measuring the level of variation of messenger RNA (mRNA) present in mice and zebrafish after they died within 96 hours. mRNA is like a blueprint, it tells genes what type of protein needs to be produced by which type of cell. So if there are many mRNAs in a cell, it means that many genes are currently active.

Certain parts of the body still function after several days after the body has died.(Photo: Artem Furman / Shutterstock.com)

As reported by Mitch Leslie from the Journal of Science, we are addressing tasks such as stimulating inflammation, immune system and fighting stress.

Noble told Leslie: "The amazing thing is that the genes that grow become active after the body dies."

However, not all genes are beneficial , the team found that some genes may promote the development of cancer after the host dies in mice and zebras. This has raised researchers' suspicions that in the dead host's body, the body returns to the cellular state of a rapidly developing embryo.

The genes, no matter how healthy and healthy, are not strong enough to carry an individual mouse, zebra or even humans back to life. However, we need to understand what researchers are doing and why this finding has a big impact on patients living with transplants.

Studies have shown that organ recipients are at a higher risk of developing 32 different types of cancer than others, including diseases that doctors are trying hard to reduce them like cancer. Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney cancer, liver cancer.

Eric A. Engels from the National Cancer Research Institute said: "Transplantation is a therapy aimed at giving life to patients with end-stage organ diseases. However, it also places people. receiving organs at risk of cancer partly because of the drugs used to suppress the organ transplant's immune system and anti-rejection: Cancer risks of transplant recipients are similar to those of transplant recipients. HIV-infected patients have an increased risk of cancer-related immunosuppression ".

Speaking to the scientific journal, Noble said, the use of a large amount of drugs in transplant patients to ensure their bodies do not dispose of the transplanted organ can also explain the high risk of cancer. However, genes that remain active after the host dies in an organ transplanted may also be a cause.

This study has been published before being published on the bioRxiv website and should be emphasized that it has not been evaluated for peer review by many other scientists.

By publishing online research, Noble and his team are inviting other researchers to join and review before submitting to scientific journals. And until the results of this study are firmly confirmed, we still have the right to be skeptical about it, especially when similar findings need to be made on people next to the animals in the room. experiment.

This finding may also be the beginning of a whole new way of defining what life and death are, as Noble says: "We can get a lot of information about life by how to study death ".