scholarly journals Tart Cherry Increases Lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans by Altering Metabolic Signaling Pathways

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1482
Author(s):  
Shasika Jayarathne ◽  
Latha Ramalingam ◽  
Hunter Edwards ◽  
Siva A. Vanapalli ◽  
Naima Moustaid-Moussa

Aging and healthspan are determined by both environmental and genetic factors. The insulin/insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1) pathway is a key mediator of aging in Caenorhabditis elegans and mammals. Specifically, DAF-2 signaling, an ortholog of human IGF, controls DAF-16/FOXO transcription factor, a master regulator of metabolism and longevity. Moreover, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are both linked to aging. We propose that daily supplementation of tart cherry extract (TCE), rich in anthocyanins with antioxidant properties may exert dual benefits for mitochondrial function and oxidative stress, resulting in beneficial effects on aging in C. elegans. We found that TCE supplementation at 6 μg or 12 μg/mL, increased (p < 0.05) the mean lifespan of wild type N2 worms, respectively, when compared to untreated control worms. Consistent with these findings, TCE upregulated (p < 0.05) expression of longevity-related genes such as daf-16 and aak-2 (but not daf-2 or akt-1 genes) and genes related to oxidative stress such as sod-2. Further, we showed that TCE supplementation increased spare respiration in N2 worms. However, TCE did not change the mean lifespan of daf-16 and aak-2 mutant worms. In conclusion, our findings indicate that TCE confers healthspan benefits in C. elegans through enhanced mitochondrial function and reduced oxidative stress, mainly via the DAF-16 pathway.

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanhui Meng ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Wenjun Wang ◽  
Yan Fu

Objective. Gengnianchun (GNC), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), is primarily used to improve declining functions related to aging. In this study, we investigated its prolongevity and stress resistance properties and explored the associated regulatory mechanism using a Caenorhabditis elegans model. Methods. Wild-type C. elegans N2 was used for lifespan analysis and oxidative stress resistance assays. Transgenic animals were used to investigate pathways associated with antioxidative stress activity. The effects of GNC on levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and expression of specific genes were examined. Results. GNC-treated wild-type worms showed an increase in survival time under both normal and oxidative stress conditions. GNC decreased intracellular ROS levels by 67.95%. GNC significantly enhanced the oxidative stress resistance of several mutant strains, suggesting that the protective effect of GNC is independent of the function of these genes. However, the oxidative stress resistance effect of GNC was absent in worms with daf-16 mutation. We also found upregulation of daf-16 downstream targets including sod-3 and mtl-1. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that GNC extends the lifespan of C. elegans and enhances its resistance to oxidative stress via a daf-16/FOXO-dependent pathway. This study also provides a feasible method for screening the biological mechanisms of TCMs.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Mani Iyer Prasanth ◽  
James Michael Brimson ◽  
Dicson Sheeja Malar ◽  
Anchalee Prasansuklab ◽  
Tewin Tencomnao

BACKGROUND: Streblus asper Lour., has been reported to have anti-aging and neuroprotective efficacies in vitro. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the anti-aging, anti-photoaging and neuroprotective efficacies of S. asper in Caenorhabditis elegans. METHODS: C. elegans (wild type and gene specific mutants) were treated with S. asper extract and analyzed for lifespan and other health benefits through physiological assays, fluorescence microscopy, qPCR and Western blot. RESULTS: The plant extract was found to increase the lifespan, reduce the accumulation of lipofuscin and modulate the expression of candidate genes. It could extend the lifespan of both daf-16 and daf-2 mutants whereas the pmk-1 mutant showed no effect. The activation of skn-1 was observed in skn-1::GFP transgenic strain and in qPCR expression. Further, the extract can extend the lifespan of UV-A exposed nematodes along with reducing ROS levels. Additionally, the extract also extends lifespan and reduces paralysis in Aβ transgenic strain, apart from reducing Aβ expression. CONCLUSIONS: S. asper was able to extend the lifespan and healthspan of C. elegans which was independent of DAF-16 pathway but dependent on SKN-1 and MAPK which could play a vital role in eliciting the anti-aging, anti-photoaging and neuroprotective effects, as the extract could impart oxidative stress resistance and neuroprotection.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fujie Yan ◽  
Yushu Chen ◽  
Ramila Azat ◽  
Xiaodong Zheng

Mulberry anthocyanins possess many pharmacological effects including liver protection, anti-inflammation, and anticancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether mulberry anthocyanin extract (MAE) exerts beneficial effects against oxidative stress damage in HepG2 cells and Caenorhabditis elegans. In vitro, MAE prevented cytotoxicity, increased glucose consumption and uptake, and eliminated excessive intracellular free radicals in H2O2-induced cells. Moreover, MAE pretreatment maintained Nrf2, HO-1, and p38 MAPK stimulation and abolished upregulation of p-JNK, FOXO1, and PGC-1α that were involved in oxidative stress and insulin signalling modulation. In vivo, extended lifespan was observed in C. elegans damaged by paraquat in the presence of MAE, while these beneficial effects were disappeared in pmk-1 and daf-16 mutants. PMK-1 and SKN-1 were activated after exposure to paraquat and MAE suppressed PMK-1 activation but enhanced SKN-1 stimulation. Our findings suggested that MAE recovered redox status in HepG2 cells and C. elegans that suffered from oxidative stress, which might be by targeting MAPKs and Nrf2.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0245474
Author(s):  
Thi Thanh Huong Pham ◽  
Wan-Ying Huang ◽  
Chang-Shi Chen ◽  
Wen-Tai Chiu ◽  
Han-Sheng Chuang

Antioxidant uptake and regular exercise are two well-acknowledged measures used for rejuvenation and oxidative stress elimination. Previous studies have revealed that moderate exercise mildly increases intracellular signaling oxidant levels and strengthens the ability of an organism to deal with escalating oxidative stress by upregulating antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase. Antioxidant supplementation directly scavenges intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) to reduce oxidative stress. However, research to understand the impacts of these enzymes on mitigating oxidative stress from the perspective of simple animals is limited. Herein, we show that exercise combined with antioxidant supplementation ameliorates the physiological phenotypes and markers of aging in wild-type and SOD/CAT-deficient Caenorhabditis elegans. We discovered that treated wild-type and gene-deficient worms show better survivorship, reproduction, and motility compared with their control counterparts. Assays of biochemical indices revealed that variations in sod-3 expression under different stress levels imply an inducible enzyme response resulting from exercise training and antioxidant supplementation. In addition, induced ROS resistance obtained from any type of treatment could persist for several days even after treatment cessation, thus suggesting a potential long-term antioxidative stress effect. Our findings confirm that exercise, antioxidant supplementation, and their combination could significantly improve the ability of C. elegans to withstand adverse stress. Our observations provide promising insights into future therapies of anti-oxidative stress in higher animals.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Li ◽  
Thomas L. Ingram ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Kamila Derecka ◽  
Nathan Courtier ◽  
...  

AbstractAgeing, the decline of biological functions over time, is inherent to eukaryotes. Female honeybees attain a long-lived queen phenotype upon continuous consumption of royal jelly, whereas restricted supply of this nutritional substance promotes the development of worker bees, which are short-lived. An abundant protein found within royal jelly is major royal jelly protein 1 (MRJP1), also known as ‘Royalactin’. Health- and lifespan promoting effects have been attributed to Royalactin in species from diverse animal taxa, suggesting it acts on phylogenetically conserved physiological processes. Here, we explore the effects of feeding the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans with Escherichia coli that express a recombinant form of Royalactin (RArec). We confirm that consumption of RArec increases body size, improves locomotion and extends lifespan. We discover a link between Royalactin and mitochondria, organelles which play a key part in the ageing process: both spare respiratory capacity and morphology indicate improved mitochondrial function in RArec fed C. elegans. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using recombinant Royalactin to gain further insight into processes of healthy ageing in many species.RArec production allows insight into potential beneficial effects across species.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shara Francesca Rapa ◽  
Biagio Raffaele Di Iorio ◽  
Pietro Campiglia ◽  
August Heidland ◽  
Stefania Marzocco

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a debilitating pathology with various causal factors, culminating in end stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation. The progression of CKD is closely associated with systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, which are responsible for the manifestation of numerous complications such as malnutrition, atherosclerosis, coronary artery calcification, heart failure, anemia and mineral and bone disorders, as well as enhanced cardiovascular mortality. In addition to conventional therapy with anti-inflammatory and antioxidative agents, growing evidence has indicated that certain minerals, vitamins and plant-derived metabolites exhibit beneficial effects in these disturbances. In the current work, we review the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of various agents which could be of potential benefit in CKD/ESRD. However, the related studies were limited due to small sample sizes and short-term follow-up in many trials. Therefore, studies of several anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents with long-term follow-ups are necessary.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanhui Meng ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Yanqiu Rao ◽  
Wenjun Wang ◽  
Yan Fu

Gengnianchun (GNC), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), is believed to have beneficial effects on ageing-related diseases, such as antioxidant properties and effects against Aβ-induced toxicity. We previously found that GNC extended the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans. However, the mechanism underlying this effect was unclear. In this study, we further explored the mechanisms of GNC using a C. elegans model. GNC significantly increased the lifespan of C. elegans and enhanced oxidative and thermal stress resistance. Moreover, chemotaxis increased after GNC treatment. RNA-seq analysis showed that GNC regulated genes associated with longevity. We also conducted lifespan assays with a series of worm mutants. The results showed that GNC significantly extended the lifespan of several mutant strains, including eat-2 (ad465), rsks-1 (ok1255), and glp-1 (e2144), suggesting that the prolongevity effect of GNC is independent of the function of these genes. However, GNC failed to extend the lifespan of daf-2 (e1370), age-1 (hx546), and daf-16 (mu86) mutant strains. Our findings suggest that GNC extends the lifespan of C. elegans via the insulin/IGF-1 signalling pathway and may be a potential antiageing agent.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 198-206
Author(s):  
Kiran Singh ◽  
Shweta Yadav

Owing to ubiquitous distribution, high abundances and ecological relevance, Caenorhabditis elegans has strong potential interest as barometer of environment and human health. Ecotoxicological methods are used to evaluate the effect of various anthropogenic contaminants on the ecosystems that circumscribe both in-vivo and in-vitro toxicities to explore the pathways and mechanisms of toxicity and to set precise toxicity thresholds. The interest in C. elegans, as a model organism in toxicological studies, has increased over the past few decades. The enticement of C. elegans comes from the ease of metabolically active digestive, sensory, endocrine, neuromuscular, reproductive systems and genetic manipulation along with the ability to fluorescently label neuronal subtypes. The study reviews the competence of Caenorhabditis elegans as a potential model organism in various toxicity assays specifically neurotoxicity and oxidative stress.


Author(s):  
Kitlangki Suchiang ◽  
Nitasha H Kayde

Background: Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus Nees (P. thyrsiflorus) of Acanthaceae family is endogenous to sub-tropical Himalayas. It has been reported to be used traditionally in Jaintia tribe of Meghalaya, India for treatment of many ailments.Objectives: The aim was to detect the active compounds present in the leaves for evaluation of in vitro free radicals scavenging potentials. Leaves protective actions in vivo will be investigated using Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) model system utilizing wild type and mutant strains and the phenomena of host-pathogens interactions.Materials and methods: Gas chromatography/ Mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used for detection of different compounds present. The versatility of leaf extracts to scavenge different free radicals generated in vitro was assessed with different in vitro methods. Survival analysis of wild type and mutant strains C. elegans under enhanced pro-oxidants exposure was investigated in vivo. Fast killing assay was also performed to study the extracts modulatory activity on host C. elegans survival under pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.Results:  Forty compounds were detected in methanolic fraction of the extract with variable percentages. Both aqueous and methanol extract possessed remarkable, versatile free radical scavenging activity irrespective of the types of free radical generated. The in vivo experiments are in compliance, with observable increased survival ability percentage of C. elegans under intense exogenous oxidative stress and pathogen infection.Conclusion: Our findings enlightened the different compounds present with versatility of P. thyrsiflorus in tackling different free radicals generated both in vitro and in vivo that highly support for its candidature as a good antioxidant source. Our findings may justify the historical relevance of this plant in herbal remedies that could form the basis for inquiry of new active principles.Keywords: Free radicals, Oxidative stress, Caenorhabditis elegans, Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus, Phytochemicals


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhadeep Chakrabarti ◽  
Forough Jahandideh ◽  
Jianping Wu

Chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis and cancer are now the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Inflammatory processes and oxidative stress underlie the pathogenesis of these pathological conditions. Bioactive peptides derived from food proteins have been evaluated for various beneficial effects, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. In this review, we summarize the roles of various food-derived bioactive peptides in inflammation and oxidative stress and discuss the potential benefits and limitations of using these compounds against the burden of chronic diseases.


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