Tardigrade Protein Could Protect Cancer Patients from Radiation Damage

Radiation therapy helps 60% of U.S. cancer patients, but its brutal side effects—painful sores, bleeding, and weight loss—often force treatment delays or stoppages. Now, scientists may have found an unlikely hero in the fight against radiation damage: tardigrades (aka "water bears").

🔬 The Breakthrough

Researchers from MIT, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and the University of Iowa engineered a mRNA-based therapy using a tardigrade protein called Dsup, which shields DNA from radiation. In mice:
✔ Reduced DNA damage by 50%
✔ Protected mouth & rectal tissue (common radiation side-effect sites)
✔ No protection of tumors (only targeted healthy cells)

💡 Why Tardigrades?

These microscopic creatures survive:
☢️ Cosmic radiation (3,000x more than humans can handle)
🌌 Space vacuum
💧 Extreme dehydration
Their Dsup protein binds to DNA, acting like a "radiation shield."

🛠️ How It Works

1️⃣ mRNA encoding Dsup is injected before radiation
2️⃣ Cells temporarily produce the protein
3️⃣ Protection lasts hours, then naturally degrades

👩⚕️ What Doctors Say

"Radiation is crucial for tumors, but side effects can be devastating. This could help patients tolerate treatment better."
– Dr. Giovanni Traverso, MIT/Brigham & Women’s Hospital

🚀 Future Applications

🔹 Better cancer care – Fewer treatment interruptions
🔹 Safer chemotherapy – Potential to reduce DNA damage
🔹 Space travel – Protecting astronauts from cosmic radiation

⚠️ Next Steps

• Modify Dsup to avoid immune reactions in humans

• Expand testing for large-scale use

Reference:

Radioprotection of healthy tissue via nanoparticle-delivered mRNA encoding for a damage-suppressor protein found in tardigrades, Nature Biomedical Engineering (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41551-025-01360-5