Raphael Thys
A ball python. (Credit: Yuxiao Tan/CU Boulder)
BOULDER, Colo. — Imagine a world where heart patients could take a pill that would make their hearts stronger, more flexible, and more efficient — all within 24 hours. While this may sound far-fetched in 2024, nature has already perfected such a marvel in one of the most unlikely places: the python.
In a fascinating study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have unraveled the astonishing secrets of the python’s heart, revealing a biological feat that could reshape our approach to treating human heart conditions.
Picture this: A python, having fasted for months, suddenly consumes a meal larger than its own body mass. Within a day, its heart swells by 25%, its cardiac tissue becomes dramatically more pliable, and the organ begins to squeeze with unprecedented force, more than doubling its pulse. Meanwhile, a complex network of genes springs into action, boosting the snake’s metabolism by an astounding 40 times! Two weeks later, as if nothing extraordinary had occurred, everything returns to normal — save for a heart that’s slightly larger and even more robust than before.
This isn’t the plot of a new sci-fi blockbuster. It’s the everyday reality for pythons, and it’s capturing the imagination of scientists who see in these serpents a potential treasure trove of solutions for human heart health.
“Pythons can go months or even a year in the wild without eating and then consume something greater than their own body mass, yet nothing bad happens to them,” says Leslie Leinwand, senior author of the study and professor at CU Boulder, in a media release. “We believe they possess mechanisms that protect their hearts from things that would be harmful to humans. This study goes a long way toward mapping out what those are.”
Leinwand’s fascination with pythons began nearly two decades ago, making her lab one of the few in the world looking to these non-venomous giants for clues to improve human health. It’s a departure from traditional animal studies that typically focus on rats and mice, but as Leinwand points out, “there is a lot to learn from animals like pythons that have evolved ways to survive in extreme environments.”
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have unraveled the astonishing secrets of the python’s heart, revealing a biological feat that could reshape our approach to treating human heart conditions. (Credit: Lauren Suryanata/Shutterstock)
The team focused on ball pythons, comparing the hearts of snakes that had fasted for 28 days with those that had eaten a meal equivalent to 25% of their body weight just 24 hours prior.
The study’s findings are nothing short of remarkable. When pythons feast after a long fast, their hearts undergo a transformation that would be lethal in humans. Specialized bundles of cardiac muscle, called myofibrils, become radically softer while simultaneously contracting with about 50% more force. It’s as if the python heart becomes a high-performance sports car overnight, capable of greater speed and power while handling more smoothly than ever before.
But the changes aren’t just mechanical. The researchers discovered “profound epigenetic differences” between fed and fasting snakes. In other words, the very way genes are expressed in python hearts shifts dramatically after a meal. Some of these genetic changes appear to nudge the python heart to burn fat instead of sugar for fuel — a feat that diseased human hearts struggle to accomplish.
The implications of these findings stretch far beyond the realm of herpetology. Cardiac fibrosis, a condition where heart tissue stiffens, plagues millions of people worldwide. The python’s ability to rapidly soften its heart tissue could hold the key to developing groundbreaking treatments for this and other heart conditions.
Moreover, the python’s remarkable cardiac plasticity challenges our fundamental understanding of what’s possible in heart health. While human hearts do change over time in response to exercise or disease, the speed and magnitude of the python’s cardiac remodeling are unparalleled in the animal kingdom. This raises intriguing questions about the untapped potential of the human heart and whether we might be able to unlock similar capabilities for rapid, beneficial adaptation.
“We found that the python heart is basically able to radically remodel itself, becoming much less stiff and much more energy efficient, in just 24 hours. If we can map out how the python does this and harness it to use therapeutically in people it would be extraordinary,” Leinwand explains.
The potential applications extend beyond cardiology. The study suggests that the mechanisms at play in python hearts could have implications for treating fibrosis in other organs, including the lungs and liver. It’s as if these snakes hold the blueprint for a universal tissue-rejuvenation system that humans have yet to discover.
Paper Summary
Methodology
The researchers compared hearts from pythons that had fasted for 28 days with those that had eaten a meal equivalent to 25% of their body weight 24 hours before. They used a variety of techniques to study these hearts, including microscopy to examine heart cell structure, specialized equipment to measure the force of cell contractions, genetic analysis to look at gene activity, and advanced techniques to study epigenetic changes (how genes are turned on or off). They also conducted metabolic analyses to understand how the hearts were producing and using energy.
Key Results
The study found that python hearts increased in size by about 25% within 24 hours of feeding. Heart cells could generate about 50% more force while becoming significantly more flexible. There were major changes in gene activity, particularly in genes involved in metabolism and protein production. The hearts showed epigenetic changes that made certain genes more accessible. Energy production in the heart shifted to favor burning fats over sugars, and overall metabolism increased dramatically.
Study Limitations
While this study provides fascinating insights, it has some limitations. The research was conducted on a specific species of python, and the results may not directly apply to other species, including humans. The study focused on changes occurring within 24 hours of feeding, and longer-term effects were not examined in detail. Additionally, while the findings suggest potential applications for human health, direct translations to human medicine would require extensive further research and clinical trials.
Discussion & Takeaways
This study reveals the extraordinary ability of python hearts to rapidly adapt to extreme physiological demands. The findings challenge our understanding of cardiac plasticity and suggest that hearts may be capable of more dramatic and rapid beneficial changes than previously thought. The research opens up new avenues for exploring heart health, potentially leading to novel approaches for treating conditions like cardiac fibrosis and heart failure. The study also underscores the importance of studying diverse species to gain insights into biology that may not be apparent from studying humans or traditional lab animals alone.
Funding & Disclosures
This research was supported by the Joyce and Dick Brown endowment. One of the researchers was supported by a Human Frontiers Science Program fellowship and an American Heart Association postdoctoral fellowship. The authors declared no competing interests.