Publication Date:
2012-07-09
Description:
Genes down-regulated in spaceflight are involved in the control of longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans Scientific Reports 2, 05072012 doi: 10.1038/srep00487 Yoko Honda Akira Higashibata Yohei Matsunaga Yukiko Yonezawa Tsuyoshi Kawano Atsushi Higashitani Kana Kuriyama Toru Shimazu Masashi Tanaka Nathaniel J. Szewczyk Noriaki Ishioka Shuji Honda How microgravitational space environments affect aging is not well understood. We observed that, in Caenorhabditis elegans, spaceflight suppressed the formation of transgenically expressed polyglutamine aggregates, which normally accumulate with increasing age. Moreover, the inactivation of each of seven genes that were down-regulated in space extended lifespan on the ground. These genes encode proteins that are likely related to neuronal or endocrine signaling: acetylcholine receptor, acetylcholine transporter, choline acetyltransferase, rhodopsin-like receptor, glutamate-gated chloride channel, shaker family of potassium channel, and insulin-like peptide. Most of them mediated lifespan control through the key longevity-regulating transcription factors DAF-16 or SKN-1 or through dietary-restriction signaling, singly or in combination. These results suggest that aging in C. elegans is slowed through neuronal and endocrine response to space environmental cues.
Electronic ISSN:
2045-2322
Topics:
Natural Sciences in General
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