The Effect of Axenic Dietary Restriction on the Age-Related Changes in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Axenic dietary restriction (ADR) is highly effective in extending lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans, but its effects on healthspan improvement are less well characterized. Using transmission electron microscopy, morphometric analyses, and functional assays, we found ADR can preserve tissue ultrastructure, including the cuticle, epidermis, and intestinal lumen, and reduce age-associated pathologies like gonad degeneration, uterine tumor clusters, pharyngeal deterioration, and intestinal atrophy. However, there was no notable improvement in behavioral and functional metrics.

Reverse genetic screening during L1 arrest reveals a role of the diacylglycerol kinase 1 gene dgk-1 and sphingolipid metabolism genes in sleep regulation.

Sleep is a fundamental state of behavioral quiescence and physiological restoration. Sleep is controlled by environmental conditions, indicating a complex regulation of sleep by multiple processes. Our knowledge of the genes and mechanisms that control sleep during various conditions is, however, still incomplete.

Adult-restricted gene knock-down reveals candidates that affect locomotive healthspan in C. elegans.

Understanding how we can age healthily is a challenge at the heart of biogerontological interest. Whereas myriad genes are known to affect the lifespan of model organisms, effects of such interventions on healthspan-the period of life where an animal is considered healthy, rather than merely alive-are less clear. To understand relationships between life- and healthspan, in recent years several platforms were developed with the purpose of assessing both readouts simultaneously.

GLB-3: A resilient, cysteine-rich, membrane-tethered globin expressed in the reproductive and nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans.

The popular genetic model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) encodes 34 globins, whereby the few that are well-characterized show divergent properties besides the typical oxygen carrier function. Here, we present a biophysical characterization and expression analysis of C.

Axenic Culture of Alters Lysosomal/Proteasomal Balance and Increases Neuropeptide Expression.

Axenically cultured show many characteristic traits of worms subjected to dietary restriction, such as slowed development, reduced fertility, and increased stress resistance. Hence, the term axenic dietary restriction (ADR) is often applied. ADR dramatically extends the worm lifespan compared to other DR regimens such as bacterial dilution.

Identification of healthspan-promoting genes in Caenorhabditis elegans based on a human GWAS study.

To find drivers of healthy ageing, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed in healthy and unhealthy older individuals. Healthy individuals were defined as free from cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart failure, major adverse cardiovascular event, diabetes, dementia, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, rheumatism, Crohn's disease, malabsorption or kidney disease. Six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with unknown function associated with ten human genes were identified as candidate healthspan markers.

Amplicon_sorter: A tool for reference-free amplicon sorting based on sequence similarity and for building consensus sequences.

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) is a third-generation sequencing technology that is gaining popularity in ecological research for its portable and low-cost sequencing possibilities. Although the technology excels at long-read sequencing, it can also be applied to sequence amplicons. The downside of ONT is the low quality of the raw reads.

Accumulation of Glycogen and Upregulation of LEA-1 in Support Stress Resistance, Not Longevity.

DAF-16-dependent activation of a dauer-associated genetic program in the insulin/IGF-1 mutant leads to accumulation of large amounts of glycogen with concomitant upregulation of glycogen synthase, GSY-1. Glycogen is a major storage sugar in that can be used as a short-term energy source for survival, and possibly as a reservoir for synthesis of a chemical chaperone trehalose. Its role in mitigating anoxia, osmotic and oxidative stress has been demonstrated previously.

Prediction of biological age by morphological staging of sarcopenia in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Sarcopenia encompasses a progressive decline in muscle quantity and quality. Given its close association with ageing, it may represent a valuable healthspan marker. The commonalities with human muscle structure and facile visualization possibilities make Caenorhabditis elegans an attractive model for studying the relationship between sarcopenia and healthspan.

Phenotypic Screening in as a Tool for the Discovery of New Geroprotective Drugs.

Population aging is one of the largest challenges of the 21st century. As more people live to advanced ages, the prevalence of age-related diseases and disabilities will increase placing an ever larger burden on our healthcare system. A potential solution to this conundrum is to develop treatments that prevent, delay or reduce the severity of age-related diseases by decreasing the rate of the aging process.

DAF-16/FoxO in and Its Role in Metabolic Remodeling.

DAF-16, the only forkhead box transcription factors class O (FoxO) homolog in , integrates signals from upstream pathways to elicit transcriptional changes in many genes involved in aging, development, stress, metabolism, and immunity. The major regulator of DAF-16 activity is the insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling (IIS) pathway, reduction of which leads to lifespan extension in worms, flies, mice, and humans. In mutants, reduced IIS leads to a heterochronic activation of a dauer survival program during adulthood.

The nutritional requirements of .

Animals require sufficient intake of a variety of nutrients to support their development, somatic maintenance and reproduction. An adequate diet provides cell building blocks, chemical energy to drive cellular processes and essential nutrients that cannot be synthesised by the animal, or at least not in the required amounts. Dietary requirements of nematodes, including have been extensively studied with the major aim to develop a chemically defined axenic medium that would support their growth and reproduction.

Near-infrared fluorescence guided esophageal reconstructive surgery: A systematic review.

Background: After an esophagectomy, the stomach is most commonly used to restore continuity of the upper gastrointestinal tract. These esophago-gastric anastomoses are prone to serious complications such as leakage associated with high morbidity and mortality. Graft perfusion is considered to be an important predictor for anastomotic integrity.

A multi-parent recombinant inbred line population of C. elegans allows identification of novel QTLs for complex life history traits.

Background: The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been extensively used to explore the relationships between complex traits, genotypes, and environments. Complex traits can vary across different genotypes of a species, and the genetic regulators of trait variation can be mapped on the genome using quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from genetically and phenotypically divergent parents. Most RILs have been derived from crossing two parents from globally distant locations.

Assessment of graft perfusion and oxygenation for improved outcome in esophageal cancer surgery: Protocol for a single-center prospective observational study.

Introduction: The main cause of anastomotic leakage (AL) is tissue hypoxia, which results from impaired perfusion of the pedicle stomach graft after esophageal reconstruction. Clinical judgment is unreliable in determining graft perfusion. Therefore, an objective, validated, and reproducible method is urgently needed.

Laser-induced remote release in vivo in C. elegans from novel silver nanoparticles-alginate hydrogel shells.

Non-destructive, controllable, remote light-induced release inside cells enables studying time- and space-specific processes in biology. In this work we demonstrate the remote release of tagged proteins in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) worms using a near-infrared laser light as a trigger from novel hydrogel shells functionalized with silver nanoparticles responsive to laser light.

Bioassay-guided isolation of three anthelmintic compounds from Warburgia ugandensis Sprague subspecies ugandensis, and the mechanism of action of polygodial.

Parasitic helminths continue to pose problems in human and veterinary medicine, as well as in agriculture. Resistance to current anthelmintics has prompted the search for new drugs. Anthelmintic metabolites from medicinal plants could be good anthelmintic drug candidates.

Ancient Origin of the CARD-Coiled Coil/Bcl10/MALT1-Like Paracaspase Signaling Complex Indicates Unknown Critical Functions.

The CARD-coiled coil (CC)/Bcl10/MALT1-like paracaspase (CBM) signaling complexes composed of a CARD-CC family member (CARD-9, -10, -11, or -14), Bcl10, and the type 1 paracaspase MALT1 (PCASP1) play a pivotal role in immunity, inflammation, and cancer. Targeting MALT1 proteolytic activity is of potential therapeutic interest. However, little is known about the evolutionary origin and the original functions of the CBM complex.

Multiple Molecular Mechanisms Rescue mtDNA Disease in C. elegans.

Genetic instability of the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) plays an important role in human aging and disease. Thus far, it has proven difficult to develop successful treatment strategies for diseases that are caused by mtDNA instability. To address this issue, we developed a model of mtDNA disease in the nematode C.

CBP-1 Acts in GABAergic Neurons to Double Life Span in Axenically Cultured Caenorhabditis elegans.

When cultured in axenic medium, Caenorhabditis elegans shows the largest life-span extension compared with other dietary restriction regimens. However, the underlying molecular mechanism still remains elusive. The gene cbp-1, encoding the worm ortholog of p300/CBP (CREB-binding protein), is one of the very few key genes known to be essential for life span doubling under axenic dietary restriction (ADR).

Changes of Protein Turnover in Aging .

Protein turnover rates severely decline in aging organisms, including However, limited information is available on turnover dynamics at the individual protein level during aging. We followed changes in protein turnover at one-day resolution using a multiple-pulse N-labeling and accurate mass spectrometry approach. Forty percent of the proteome shows gradual slowdown in turnover with age, whereas only few proteins show increased turnover.