C elegans aging

The aging process has broad physiological impacts, including a significant decline in sensory function, which threatens both physical health and quality of life. One ideal model to study aging, neuronal function, and gene expression is the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans , which has a short lifespan and relatively simple, thoroughly mapped nervous system and genome. Previous works have identified that mechanosensory neuronal structure changes with age, but importantly, the actual age-related changes in the function and health of neurons, as well as the underlying genetic mechanisms responsible for these declines, are not fully understood...

There is a significant global upsurge in the number and proportion of older persons in the population. With this comes an increasing prevalence of age-related conditions which pose a major challenge to healthcare systems. The development of anti-ageing treatments may help meet this challenge by targeting the ageing process which is a common denominator to many health problems. Cannabis-like compounds (cannabinoids) are reported to improve quality of life and general well-being in human trials, and there is increasing preclinical research highlighting that they have anti-ageing activity...

Astaxanthin (AST) is a xanthophyll carotenoid with strong oxidation resistance, which can effectively scavenge various free radicals and protect organisms from oxidative damage. AST is also known to have prominent anti-aging effects, but the underlying mechanism of AST in anti-radiation aging is largely unknown. In this work, we applied ultraviolet (UV) irradiation to accelerate the aging of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) and treated the nematodes with AST to explore whether and how AST could attenuate the radiation-induced aging effect...

In this study, it was found that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) could extend the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans ( C. elegans ) induced by 100 μM acrolein (ACR) at all test concentrations (300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 μM). Notably, 500 μM EGCG exhibited the most significant mean lifespan extension, increasing it by approximately 32.5%. Furthermore, 500 μM EGCG effectively reduced elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipofuscin production caused by acrolein. It also bolstered the activity of antioxidant enzymes and mitigated malondialdehyde (MDA) levels compared to the ACR-only group...

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for humans and animals, but high-dose supplementation with Se compounds, most notably selenite, may exert cytotoxic and other adverse effects. On the other hand, bacteria, including Escherichia coli ( E. coli ), are capable of reducing selenite to red elemental Se that may serve as a safer Se source. Here, we examined how a diet of Se-enriched E. coli bacteria affected vital parameters and age-associated neurodegeneration in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans ( C...

With the increasing aging population, rational design of drugs for Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment has become an important research area. Based on the multifunctional design strategy, four diosmetin derivatives (1-4) were designed, synthesized, and characterized by 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, and MS. Docking study was firstly applied to substantiate the design strategies and then the biological activities including cholinesterase inhibition, metal chelation, antioxidation and β-amyloid (Aβ) aggregation inhibition in vitro were evaluated...

The quest for extending lifespan and promoting a healthy aging has been a longstanding pursuit in the field of aging research. The control of aging and age-related diseases by nitric oxide (NO) and cGMP signaling is a broadly conserved process from worms to human. Here we show that TOP-N53, a dual-acting NO donor and PDE5 inhibitor, can increase both lifespan and health span in C. elegans .

In specialized plant-pollinator associations, partners may exhibit adaptive traits, which favor the maintenance of the interaction. The association between Calibrachoa elegans (Solanaceae) and its oligolectic bee pollinator, Hexantheda missionica (Colletidae), is mutualistic and forms a narrowly specialized pollination system. Flowers of C. elegans are pollinated exclusively by this bee species, and the bees restrict their pollen resources to this plant species. The pollen presentation schedules of C. elegans were evaluated at the population level to test the hypothesis that H...

Mechanical stress is a measure of internal resistance exhibited by a body or material when external forces, such as compression, tension, bending, etc. are applied. The study of mechanical stress on health and aging is a continuously growing field, as major changes to the extracellular matrix and cell-to-cell adhesions can result in dramatic changes to tissue stiffness during aging and diseased conditions. For example, during normal aging, many tissues including the ovaries, skin, blood vessels, and heart exhibit increased stiffness, which can result in a significant reduction in function of that organ...

Neurodegenerative diseases are the second most prevalent cause of death in industrialized countries. Alzheimer's Disease is the most widespread and also most acknowledged form of dementia today. Together with Parkinson's Disease they account for over 90 % cases of neurodegenerative disorders caused by proteopathies. Far less known are the neurodegenerative pathologies in DNA repair deficiency syndromes. Such diseases like Cockayne - or Werner Syndrome are described as progeroid syndromes - diseases that cause the premature ageing of the affected persons, and there are clear implications of such diseases in neurologic dysfunction and degeneration...

Lactobacillus fermentum can exert antiaging effects, but their roles are strain-specific, and little is known about the molecular mechanisms in some strains. This study investigated the antiaging effects of L. fermentum WC2020 (WC2020) isolated from Chinese fermented pickles and the underlying mechanism of the action in Caenorhabditis elegans. WC2020 enhanced the mean lifespan of L1-stage and L4-stage worms by 22.67% and 12.42%, respectively, compared with Escherichia coli OP50 (OP50), a standard food source for C...

Proteasome dysfunction is implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and age-related proteinopathies. Using a C. elegans model, we demonstrate that 20S proteasome hyperactivation, facilitated by 20S gate-opening, accelerates the targeting of intrinsically disordered proteins. This leads to increased protein synthesis, extensive rewiring of the proteome and transcriptome, enhanced oxidative stress defense, accelerated lipid metabolism, and peroxisome proliferation. It also promotes ER-associated degradation (ERAD) of aggregation-prone proteins, such as alpha-1 antitrypsin (ATZ) and various lipoproteins...

Histone H3/H4 chaperone ASF1 is a conserved factor mediating nucleosomal assembly and disassembly, playing crucial roles in processes such as replication, transcription, and DNA repair. Nevertheless, its involvement in aging has remained unclear. Here, we utilized the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to demonstrate that the loss of UNC-85, the homolog of ASF1, leads to a shortened lifespan in a multicellular organism. Furthermore, we show that UNC-85 is required for epigenome-mediated longevity, as knockdown of the H3K4 methyltransferase ash-2 does not extend the lifespan of unc-85 mutants...

Compromised lysosome function is implicated in the pathology of many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Familial Alzheimer's disease (fAD) is caused primarily by mutations in the presenilin encoding genes, but the underlying mechanism remains obscure. Loss of the conserved C. elegans presenilin orthologue SEL-12 results in increased mitochondrial calcium, which promotes neurodegeneration. Here, we find that sel-12 mutant lysosomes, independent of SEL-12 proteolytic activity, are significantly enlarged and more alkaline due to increased ER-to-mitochondrial calcium signaling and concomitant mitochondrial oxidative stress...

The gonad has become a central organ for understanding aging in C. elegans , as removing the proliferating stem cells in the germline results in significant lifespan extension. Similarly, when starvation in late larval stages leads to the quiescence of germline stem cells the adult nematode enters reproductive diapause, associated with an extended lifespan. This review summarizes recent advancements in identifying the mechanisms behind gonad-mediated lifespan extension, including comparisons with other nematodes and the role of lipid signaling and transcriptional changes...

MOTIVATION: Aging is intricately linked to diseases and mortality. It is reflected in molecular changes across various tissues which can be leveraged for the development of biomarkers of aging using machine learning models, known as aging clocks. Despite advancements in the field, a significant challenge remains: the lack of robust, Python-based software tools for integrating and comparing these diverse models. This gap highlights the need for comprehensive solutions that can handle the complexity and variety of data in aging research...

Objective: In humans, aging is associated with increased susceptibility to most age-related diseases. Phloretic acid (PA), a naturally occurring compound found in Ginkgo biloba and Asparagus, exhibits has potential as an anti-aging agent and possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties. This study aimed to investigate the effects of PA on longevity and stress resistance in Caenorhabditis elegans ( C.elegans ) and the mechanisms that underlie its effects. Methods: First, we examined the effects of PA on lifespan and healthspan assay, stress resistance and oxidative analysis, lipofuscin levels...

BACKGROUND: Peptides have been studied in Caenorhabditis elegans for anti-aging research recently. Due to the lack of sufficient evidence, we conducted this meta-analysis focusing on the anti-aging effect of peptides in C. elegans to provide more convincing evidence. RESULTS: A literature search in PubMed, SCOUPUS, and Web of Science databases yielded 2879 articles. After removing duplicates and based on inclusion criteria and STAIR checklist quality assessment, 9 articles were selected...

Reduced insulin/IGF-1 signalling (rIIS) improves survival across diverse taxa and there is a growing interest in its role in regulating immune function. Whilst rIIS can improve anti-bacterial resistance, the consequences for anti-viral immunity are yet to be systematically examined. Here, we show that rIIS in adult Caenorhabditis elegans increases the expression of key genes in two different anti-viral immunity pathways, whilst reducing viral load in old age, increasing survival and reducing rate-of-senescence under infection by naturally occurring positive-sense single-stranded RNA Orsay virus...

Mitochondrial stress within the nervous system can trigger non-cell autonomous responses in peripheral tissues. However, the specific neurons involved and their impact on organismal aging and health have remained incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate that mitochondrial stress in γ-aminobutyric acid-producing (GABAergic) neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans ( C. elegans ) is sufficient to significantly alter organismal lifespan, stress tolerance, and reproductive capabilities. This mitochondrial stress also leads to significant changes in mitochondrial mass, energy production, and levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS)...