scholarly journals Catalpol Modulates Lifespan via DAF-16/FOXO and SKN-1/Nrf2 Activation inCaenorhabditis elegans

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun Won Seo ◽  
Se Myung Cheon ◽  
Myon-Hee Lee ◽  
Hong Jun Kim ◽  
Hoon Jeon ◽  
...  

Catalpol is an effective component of rehmannia root and known to possess various pharmacological properties. The present study was aimed at investigating the potential effects of catalpol on the lifespan and stress tolerance usingC. elegansmodel system. Herein, catalpol showed potent lifespan extension of wild-type nematode under normal culture condition. In addition, survival rate of catalpol-fed nematodes was significantly elevated compared to untreated control under heat and oxidative stress but not under hyperosmolality conditions. We also found that elevated antioxidant enzyme activities and expressions of stress resistance proteins were attributed to catalpol-mediated increased stress tolerance of nematode. We further investigated whether catalpol’s longevity effect is related to aging-related factors including reproduction, food intake, and growth. Interestingly, catalpol exposure could attenuate pharyngeal pumping rate, indicating that catalpol may induce dietary restriction of nematode. Moreover, locomotory ability of aged nematode was significantly improved by catalpol treatment, while lipofuscin levels were attenuated, suggesting that catalpol may affect age-associated changes of nematode. Our mechanistic studies revealed thatmek-1, daf-2, age-1, daf-16, andskn-1are involved in catalpol-mediated longevity. These results indicate that catalpol extends lifespan and increases stress tolerance ofC. elegansvia DAF-16/FOXO and SKN-1/Nrf activation dependent on insulin/IGF signaling and JNK signaling.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shimaa M. A. Sayed ◽  
Karsten Siems ◽  
Christian Schmitz-Linneweber ◽  
Walter Luyten ◽  
Nadine Saul

To uncover potential anti-aging capacities of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans was used to investigate the effects of Eucommia ulmoides and Cuscuta chinensis extracts, selected by screening seven TCM extracts, on different healthspan parameters. Nematodes exposed to E. ulmoides and C. chinensis extracts, starting at the young adult stage, exhibited prolonged lifespan and increased survival after heat stress as well as upon exposure to the pathogenic bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens, whereby the survival benefits were monitored after stress initiation at different adult stages. However, only C. chinensis had the ability to enhance physical fitness: the swimming behavior and the pharyngeal pumping rate of C. elegans were improved at day 7 and especially at day 12 of adulthood. Finally, monitoring the red fluorescence of aged worms revealed that only C. chinensis extracts caused suppression of intestinal autofluorescence, a known marker of aging. The results underline the different modes of action of the tested plants extracts. E. ulmoides improved specifically the physiological fitness by increasing the survival probability of C. elegans after stress, while C. chinensis seems to be an overall healthspan enhancer, reflected in the suppressed autofluorescence, with beneficial effects on physical as well as physiological fitness. The C. chinensis effects may be hormetic: this is supported by increased gene expression of hsp-16.1 and by trend, also of hsp-12.6.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 759-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. O. Zeltukhin ◽  
G. V. Ilyinskaya ◽  
A. V. Budanov ◽  
P. M. Chumakov

In mammals a small family of genes called Sestrins play important roles in the maintenance of metabolic and redox homeostasis, suggesting that the genes may positively affect the lifespan and counteract the age-related functional decline. The nematode genome contains a single cSesn gene that makes the Caenorhabditis elegans an excellent model for studying functions of the sestrin family. We describe phenotypic differences of worms that have compromised expression of cSesn gene. By comparing three different cSesn-deficient modes with the wild-type C. elegans strain we show that the abrogation of cSesn expression results in an increased body size, an extended period of body growth, a reduces brood size and number of offspring per a single worm, an accelerated decline in muscular functions revealed as a rapid decrease in the pharyngeal pumping rate and in the overall locomotory activity. The results are consistent with the potential roles of cSesn in counteracting the process of aging in C. elegans.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Limin Hao ◽  
Yongguang Tong ◽  
Kristin Harrington ◽  
Jessica L. O’Neill ◽  
Afsaneh Sheikholeslami ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTClozapine binds and has significant effects on multiple neurotransmitter receptors, notably including some dopamine receptors. Downstream of these receptors, clozapine affects the balance of Gi− and Gq-dependent second-messenger signaling. We used Caenorhabiditis elegans as a genetic model to study further how clozapine affects both dopamine receptors and downstream Gq mediated signaling. Four of six worm dopamine receptor orthologs, dop-1, dop-2, dop-4, and dop-5 produced resistance to clozapine induced developmental delay when mutated, suggesting that both type I and type II dopamine receptors mediate the behavioral effects of clozapine in C. elegans. Beyond these receptors, reduction of function of one of the G proteins, egl-30 (Gαq), produced greatly increased susceptibility to clozapine. Gαq has multiple known downstream effects. Among these is the control of acetylcholine release, which is in balance with monoamines in the human brain and is another target of clozapine and other antipsychotic drugs. We tested for downstream effects on acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction upon clozapine treatment but found no evidence for effects of clozapine. In contrast, modulation of Gαq upstream leads to worms that are either more resistant or more susceptible to clozapine, emphasizing the importance of Gαq proteins in mediating effects of clozapine. A genetic screen for suppressors of egl-30 recovered eight mutants. By characterizing the behavioral effects of these mutants, we found that clozapine exerts its function on development by affecting Gαq signaling through control of the pharyngeal pumping rate. A whole-genome sequencing technique was utilized and identified a list of candidate genes for these suppressor mutations. Further characterization of these mutants promises the discovery of novel components participating in Gαq signaling and a better understanding of the mechanisms of action of clozapine.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac Ravi Brenner ◽  
David M. Raizen ◽  
Christopher Fang-Yen

AbstractThe nematode C. elegans uses rhythmic muscle contractions and relaxations called pumps to filter, transport, and crush food particles. A number of feeding mutants have been identified, including those with slow pharyngeal pumping rate, weak muscle contraction, defective muscle relaxation, and defective grinding of bacteria. Many aspects of these pharyngeal behavioral defects and how they affect pharyngeal function are not well understood. For example, the behavioral deficits underlying inefficient particle transport in ‘slippery’ mutants have been unclear. Here we use high speed video microscopy to describe pharyngeal pumping behaviors and particle transport in wild-type animals and in feeding mutants. Different ‘slippery’ mutants exhibit distinct defects including weak isthmus contraction, failure to trap particles in the anterior isthmus, and abnormal timing of contraction and relaxation in pharyngeal compartments. Our results show that multiple deficits in pharyngeal timing or contraction can cause defects in particle transport.


Genetics ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 161 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celine Moorman ◽  
Ronald H A Plasterk

AbstractThe sgs-1 (suppressor of activated Gαs) gene encodes one of the four adenylyl cyclases in the nematode C. elegans and is most similar to mammalian adenylyl cyclase type IX. We isolated a complete loss-of-function mutation in sgs-1 and found it to result in animals with retarded development that arrest in variable larval stages. sgs-1 mutant animals exhibit lethargic movement and pharyngeal pumping and (while not reaching adulthood) have a mean life span that is >50% extended compared to wild type. An extensive set of reduction-of-function mutations in sgs-1 was isolated in a screen for suppressors of a neuronal degeneration phenotype induced by the expression of a constitutively active version of the heterotrimeric Gαs subunit of C. elegans. Although most of these mutations change conserved residues within the catalytic domains of sgs-1, mutations in the less-conserved transmembrane domains are also found. The sgs-1 reduction-of-function mutants are viable and have reduced locomotion rates, but do not show defects in pharyngeal pumping or life span.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4160
Author(s):  
Farheen Nazli ◽  
Xiukang Wang ◽  
Maqshoof Ahmad ◽  
Azhar Hussain ◽  
Bushra ◽  
...  

Untreated wastewater used for irrigating crops is the major source of toxic heavy metals and other pollutants in soils. These heavy metals affect plant growth and deteriorate the quality of edible parts of growing plants. Phytohormone (IAA) and exopolysaccharides (EPS) producing plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria can reduce the toxicity of metals by stabilizing them in soil. The present experiment was conducted to evaluate the IAA and EPS-producing rhizobacterial strains for improving growth, physiology, and antioxidant activity of Brassica juncea (L.) under Cd-stress. Results showed that Cd-stress significantly decreased the growth and physiological parameters of mustard plants. Inoculation with Cd-tolerant, IAA and EPS-producing rhizobacterial strains, however, significantly retrieved the inhibitory effects of Cd-stress on mustard growth, and physiology by up regulating antioxidant enzyme activities. Higher Cd accumulation and proline content was observed in the roots and shoot tissues upon Cd-stress in mustard plants while reduced proline and Cd accumulation was recorded upon rhizobacterial strains inoculation. Maximum decrease in proline contents (12.4%) and Cd concentration in root (26.9%) and shoot (29%) in comparison to control plants was observed due to inoculation with Bacillus safensis strain FN13. The activity of antioxidant enzymes was increased due to Cd-stress; however, the inoculation with Cd-tolerant, IAA-producing rhizobacterial strains showed a non-significant impact in the case of the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POX) and catalase (CAT) in Brassica juncea (L.) plants under Cd-stress. Overall, Bacillus safensis strain FN13 was the most effective strain in improving the Brassica juncea (L.) growth and physiology under Cd-stress. It can be concluded, as the strain FN13 is a potential phytostabilizing biofertilizer for heavy metal contaminated soils, that it can be recommended to induce Cd-stress tolerance in crop plants.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J Gadenne ◽  
Iris Hardege ◽  
Djordji Suleski ◽  
Paris Jaggers ◽  
Isabel Beets ◽  
...  

Sexual dimorphism occurs where different sexes of the same species display differences in characteristics not limited to reproduction. For the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, in which the complete neuroanatomy has been solved for both hermaphrodites and males, sexually dimorphic features have been observed both in terms of the number of neurons and in synaptic connectivity. In addition, male behaviours, such as food-leaving to prioritise searching for mates, have been attributed to neuropeptides released from sex-shared or sex-specific neurons. In this study, we show that the lury-1 neuropeptide gene shows a sexually dimorphic expression pattern; being expressed in pharyngeal neurons in both sexes but displaying additional expression in tail neurons only in the male. We also show that lury-1 mutant animals show sex differences in feeding behaviours, with pharyngeal pumping elevated in hermaphrodites but reduced in males. LURY-1 also modulates male mating efficiency, influencing motor events during contact with a hermaphrodite. Our findings indicate sex-specific roles of this peptide in feeding and reproduction in C. elegans, providing further insight into neuromodulatory control of sexually dimorphic behaviours.


2012 ◽  
Vol 03 (01) ◽  
pp. 48-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Shintani ◽  
Tsubasa Furuhashi ◽  
Hiroyuki Hano ◽  
Masaji Matsunaga ◽  
Koji Usumi ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 290 ◽  
pp. 101-106
Author(s):  
Cin Kong ◽  
Azzahraa Izzati Aziz ◽  
Akesh Babu Kakarla ◽  
Ing Kong ◽  
Wei Kong

Graphene has gained tremendous attention due to its unlimited potential in various applications while poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a biodegradable thermoplastic polyester produced from fermenting corn starch. The incorporation of graphene into PLA has been proven to exhibit excellent mechanical and thermal properties. However, there are not many reports on the potential toxic effect of these materials towards living organisms. In this study, we investigated the possible toxicity of graphene and PLA-graphene in a live animal model, the nematode Caenorhabdits elegans (C. elegans). Alive adult worms were exposed directly to graphene and PLA-graphene across a range of concentrations from 50 µg/mL to 1000 µg/mL. After certain hours of exposure, the pharyngeal pumping rate (indicative of the C. elegans feeding activity), reproductive rate and lifespan of the worms were determined and compared to the untreated worm population. At all concentrations tested, both graphene and PLA-graphene do not affect the feeding rate of the nematode. Additionally, there was no significant difference between the lifespan of worms exposed to graphene and PLA-graphene as compared to the untreated control population (p>0.05). We examined the effect of graphene on nematode’s ability to reproduce and no reduction in progenies was detected (p>0.05). Taken together, our findings suggest that graphene and PLA-graphene do not possess a negative effect on the feeding activity, reproduction and overall lifespan of the host, indicating that these materials are safe to living organism at concentration up to 1000 µg/mL.


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