Effect of temperature, age and lifespan extending interventions on Caenorhabditis elegans models of amyloid beta pathology

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease that accounts for 60-70% of all dementia cases worldwide. The hallmark of AD is neuronal death precipitated by accrual of intercellular amyloid (Aβ) aggregates and intracellular neurofibrillary (NFT) Tau tangles. AD risk factors include age, genetics and environment. Despite intense research, the genetic and biochemical underpinnings of AD are poorly understood, and no drugs have been discovered for curing the disease. In this project, we aimed to study the impact of temperature, age and longevity-promoting interventions on two Caenorhabditis elegans transgenic strains modeling aspects of Aβ pathophysiology, by expressing full length human (1-42 amino acids) Aβ peptide in muscles or neurons. Since AD is an age-related disease, we first examined how age influenced the dynamics of Aβ-mediated phenotypes, followed by the impact of an additional stress modality- high temperature. As previously reported, worms expressing Aβ in muscles exhibited full body paralysis and mobility defects at high temperatures of 25 °C. Contrarily, the animals expressing Aβ in neurons did not show any paralysis but underwent distinct mobility defects under temperature stress. Surprisingly, we discovered that in both models the extent of pathology was only moderately aggravated by increasing age alone, or upon combining age and temperature stressors. Since aging is the biggest risk factor for AD, we also asked if genetic or chemical interventions known to increase lifespan could impact the phenotypes of the worm Aβ models. We found that a known lifespan-extending drug, promethazine•HCl, significantly delayed the onset of paralysis and mobility defects in the Aβ (muscle) model on day 1 of the animal. Similarly, we found that two known lifespan extending transcription factors, DAF-16 and NHR-49, also played an important role in alleviating Aβ phenotypes on day 1 and influenced the ability of promethazine•HCl to retard Aβ pathology. Overall, in characterizing an in vivo worm platform for identifying drugs and genes that impact AD, we have delineated the interlinked effects of age, temperature and genetic environment on Aβ pathology

NHR-49 Helps Germline-Less Worms Chew the Fat

In C. elegans, removal of the germline extends lifespan significantly. We demonstrate that the nuclear hormone receptor, NHR-49, enables the response to this physiological change by increasing the expression of genes involved in mitochondrial β-oxidation and fatty-acid desaturation. The coordinated augmentation of these processes is critical for germline-less animals to maintain their lipid stores and to sustain de novo fat synthesis during adulthood. Following germline ablation, NHR-49 is up-regulated in somatic cells by the conserved longevity determinants DAF-16/FOXO and TCER-1/TCERG1. Accordingly, NHR-49 overexpression in fertile animals extends their lifespan modestly. In fertile adults, nhr-49 expression is DAF-16/FOXO and TCER-1/TCERG1 independent although its depletion causes age-related lipid abnormalities. Our data provide molecular insights into how reproductive stimuli are integrated into global metabolic changes to alter the lifespan of the animal. They suggest that NHR-49 may facilitate the adaptation to loss of reproductive potential through synchronized enhancement of fatty-acid oxidation and desaturation, thus breaking down some fats ordained for reproduction and orchestrating a lipid profile conducive for somatic maintenance and longevity

A Transcription Elongation Factor That Links Signals from the Reproductive System to Lifespan Extension in Caenorhabditis elegans

In Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster, the aging of the soma is influenced by the germline. When germline-stem cells are removed, aging slows and lifespan is increased. The mechanism by which somatic tissues respond to loss of the germline is not well-understood. Surprisingly, we have found that a predicted transcription elongation factor, TCER-1, plays a key role in this process. TCER-1 is required for loss of the germ cells to increase C. elegans' lifespan, and it acts as a regulatory switch in the pathway. When the germ cells are removed, the levels of TCER-1 rise in somatic tissues. This increase is sufficient to trigger key downstream events, as overexpression of tcer-1 extends the lifespan of normal animals that have an intact reproductive system. Our findings suggest that TCER-1 extends lifespan by promoting the expression of a set of genes regulated by the conserved, life-extending transcription factor DAF-16/FOXO. Interestingly, TCER-1 is not required for DAF-16/FOXO to extend lifespan in animals with reduced insulin/IGF-1 signaling. Thus, TCER-1 specifically links the activity of a broadly deployed transcription factor, DAF-16/FOXO, to longevity signals from reproductive tissues

A transcription elongation factor that links signals from the reproductive system to lifespan extension in Caenorhabditis elegans.

In Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster, the aging of the soma is influenced by the germline. When germline-stem cells are removed, aging slows and lifespan is increased. The mechanism by which somatic tissues respond to loss of the germline is not well-understood. Surprisingly, we have found that a predicted transcription elongation factor, TCER-1, plays a key role in this process. TCER-1 is required for loss of the germ cells to increase C. elegans' lifespan, and it acts as a regulatory switch in the pathway. When the germ cells are removed, the levels of TCER-1 rise in somatic tissues. This increase is sufficient to trigger key downstream events, as overexpression of tcer-1 extends the lifespan of normal animals that have an intact reproductive system. Our findings suggest that TCER-1 extends lifespan by promoting the expression of a set of genes regulated by the conserved, life-extending transcription factor DAF-16/FOXO. Interestingly, TCER-1 is not required for DAF-16/FOXO to extend lifespan in animals with reduced insulin/IGF-1 signaling. Thus, TCER-1 specifically links the activity of a broadly deployed transcription factor, DAF-16/FOXO, to longevity signals from reproductive tissues

Prepattern genes and signaling molecules regulate stripe expression to specify Drosophila flight muscle attachment sites

In Drosophila, muscles attach to epidermal tendon cells specified by the gene stripe (sr). Flight muscle attachment sites are prefigured on the wing imaginal disc by sr expression in discrete domains. We describe the mechanisms underlying the specification of these domains of sr expression. We show that the concerted activities of the wingless (wg), decapentaplegic (dpp) and Notch (N) signaling pathways, and the prepattern genes pannier (pnr) and u-shaped (ush) establish domains of sr expression. N is required for initiation of sr expression. pnr is a positive regulator of sr, and is inhibited by ush in this function. The Wg signal differentially influences the formation of different sr domains. These results identify the multiple regulatory elements involved in the positioning of Drosophila flight muscle attachment sites

Nuclear hormone receptors as mediators of metabolic adaptability following reproductive perturbations.

Previously, we identified a group of nuclear hormone receptors (NHRs) that promote longevity in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans following germline-stem cell (GSC) loss. This group included NHR-49, the worm protein that performs functions similar to vertebrate PPARα, a key regulator of lipid metabolism. We showed that NHR-49/PPARα enhances mitochondrial β-oxidation and fatty acid desaturation upon germline removal, and through the coordinated enhancement of these processes allows the animal to retain lipid homeostasis and undergo lifespan extension. NHR-49/PPARα expression is elevated in GSC-ablated animals, in part, by DAF-16/FOXO3A and TCER-1/TCERG1, two other conserved, pro-longevity transcriptional regulators that are essential for germline-less longevity. In exploring the roles of the other pro-longevity NHRs, we discovered that one of them, NHR-71/HNF4, physically interacted with NHR-49/PPARα. NHR-71/HNF4 did not have a broad impact on the expression of β-oxidation and desaturation targets of NHR-49/PPARα. But, both NHR-49/PPARα and NHR-71/HNF4 were essential for the increased expression of DAF-16/FOXO3A- and TCER-1/TCERG1-downstream target genes. In addition, nhr-49 inactivation caused a striking membrane localization of KRI-1, the only known common upstream regulator of DAF-16/FOXO3A and TCER-1/TCERG1, suggesting that it may operate in a positive feedback loop to potentiate the activity of this pathway. These data underscore how selective interactions between NHRs that function as nodes in metabolic networks, confer functional specificity in response to different physiological stimuli

Nuclear hormone receptors as mediators of metabolic adaptability following reproductive perturbations.

Previously, we identified a group of nuclear hormone receptors (NHRs) that promote longevity in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans following germline-stem cell (GSC) loss. This group included NHR-49, the worm protein that performs functions similar to vertebrate PPARα, a key regulator of lipid metabolism. We showed that NHR-49/PPARα enhances mitochondrial β-oxidation and fatty acid desaturation upon germline removal, and through the coordinated enhancement of these processes allows the animal to retain lipid homeostasis and undergo lifespan extension. NHR-49/PPARα expression is elevated in GSC-ablated animals, in part, by DAF-16/FOXO3A and TCER-1/TCERG1, two other conserved, pro-longevity transcriptional regulators that are essential for germline-less longevity. In exploring the roles of the other pro-longevity NHRs, we discovered that one of them, NHR-71/HNF4, physically interacted with NHR-49/PPARα. NHR-71/HNF4 did not have a broad impact on the expression of β-oxidation and desaturation targets of NHR-49/PPARα. But, both NHR-49/PPARα and NHR-71/HNF4 were essential for the increased expression of DAF-16/FOXO3A- and TCER-1/TCERG1-downstream target genes. In addition, nhr-49 inactivation caused a striking membrane localization of KRI-1, the only known common upstream regulator of DAF-16/FOXO3A and TCER-1/TCERG1, suggesting that it may operate in a positive feedback loop to potentiate the activity of this pathway. These data underscore how selective interactions between NHRs that function as nodes in metabolic networks, confer functional specificity in response to different physiological stimuli

NHR-49/PPAR-alpha and HLH-30/TFEB cooperate for C. elegans host defense via a flavin-containing monooxygenase

The model organism Caenorhabditis elegans mounts transcriptional defense responses against intestinal bacterial infections that elicit overlapping starvation and infection responses, the regulation of which is not well understood. Direct comparison of C. elegans that were starved or infected with Staphylococcus aureus revealed a large infection-specific transcriptional signature, which was almost completely abrogated by deletion of transcription factor hlh-30/TFEB, except for six genes including a flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO) gene, fmo-2/FMO5. Deletion of fmo-2/FMO5 severely compromised infection survival, thus identifying the first FMO with innate immunity functions in animals. Moreover, fmo-2/FMO5 induction required the nuclear hormone receptor, NHR-49/PPAR-alpha, which controlled host defense cell non-autonomously. These findings reveal an infection-specific host response to S. aureus, identify HLH-30/TFEB as its main regulator, reveal FMOs as important innate immunity effectors in animals, and identify the mechanism of FMO regulation through NHR-49/PPAR-alpha during S. aureus infection, with implications for host defense and inflammation in higher organisms