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The high levels, however, have not even flinched. The researchers therefore increased the dose, giving them pure AITC. (The laboratory member responsible for these injections, Karlein Debus, had to wear a gas mask.) "They had no reaction," said Dr. Lewin. "It was amazing."
Why do not highvelds feel the burn? Dr. Lewin and colleagues compared the pain signaling neurons of the species included in the study. They discovered that Highveld's mole rat neurons are particularly screened by an ion channel type called NALCN. This channel is "pierced", which "makes it more difficult to excite neurons," said Dr. Lewin.
They gave the highveld mole rats a drug that blocks this channel. This time, AITC injections clearly bothered them. But about a day later, after the disappearance of the drug, the mole rats were again virgins. "We could make them transiently sensitive," said Dr. Lewin.
A mystery remained. Why did highveld mole rats develop this defense? The answer came from Daniel Hart, postdoctoral student at the University of Pretoria. Dr. Hart has been studying various mole rats for years and has noticed that every time he enters a high altitude burrow, "I was always attacked by ants".
The ants in question, Natal droptails, have a nasty sting. Their venom probably contains formic acid, which, according to previous experiences, works as the AITC. "The highveld mole rat has learned, over the course of millions of years, to adapt to these ants by hatching their neurons with leaky canals," said Dr. Lewin. Having developed this immunity, they can live where other mole rats are afraid to walk.
The discovery of the effect of these overexpressed channels "shows the potential for using drugs to modulate the activity of NALCN in the treatment of pain in humans," said Dr. Smith.
In addition, this is another surprise from the prolific family of mole rats: "It's something that would never have seen me," said Dr. Lewin.
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