Project description:The gas-1(fc21) mutation affects the 49 kD subunit of complex I, decreasing the rate of complex I-dependent oxidative phosphorylation. This is a model for human mitochondrial respiratory chain disease. NAD+ and PPAR-modifying drugs may confer benefits with respect to lifespan in these short-lived mutant worms. Analysis of gas-1(fc21) electron transport chain complex I mutants treated either starting in development or in young adulthood only with nicotinic acid (1 mM), resveratrol (50 microM), rosiglitazone (5 mM) or fenofibrate (14 microM) is presented. The goal is to detect transcriptional changes in clusters of genes using gene set enrichment analysis to explain treament effects in these mutant worms.
Project description:The gas-1(fc21) mutation affects the 49 kD subunit of complex I, decreasing the rate of complex I-dependent oxidative phosphorylation. This is a model for human mitochondrial respiratory chain disease. NAD+ and PPAR-modifying drugs may confer benefits with respect to lifespan in these short-lived mutant worms. Analysis of gas-1(fc21) electron transport chain complex I mutants treated either starting in development or in young adulthood only with nicotinic acid (1 mM), resveratrol (50 microM), rosiglitazone (5 mM) or fenofibrate (14 microM) is presented. The goal is to detect transcriptional changes in clusters of genes using gene set enrichment analysis to explain treament effects in these mutant worms. Four biological replicates were performed for each treatment condition (nicotinic acid, resveratrol, rosiglitazone, and fenofibrate) for each drug beginning either in development or in young adulthood for gas-1 mutant worms, i.e., 8 treated samples in total. At most one outlier was excluded from each analysis. Untreated N2 and gas-1 in each of the control solvents (S-basal, for nicotinic acid, and 1% DMSO, for resveratrol, rosiglitazone, and fenofibrate) were also analyzed; at least 3 replicates of each were included. These were used as sources of total RNA, each for hybridization to a single Affymetrix whole-genome microarray. Analysis was performed to reveal transcriptional changes related to mutantion and/or drug treatment effects.
Project description:Inhibition of insulin/IGF-1 signaling (IIS) represents a promising avenue for the treatment of mitochondrial diseases, although many of the molecular mechanisms underlying this beneficial effect remain elusive. Here, we investigate the phosphoproteomic landscape of Caenorhabditis elegans with severe mitochondrial deficiency in the context of insulin signaling inhibition.
Project description:Inhibition of insulin/IGF-1 signaling (IIS) represents a promising avenue for the treatment of mitochondrial diseases, although many of the molecular mechanisms underlying this beneficial effect remain elusive. Here, we investigate the proteomic landscape of Caenorhabditis elegans with severe mitochondrial deficiency in the context of insulin signaling inhibition.
Project description:Beyond the polymerase-gamma theory: Respiratory chain inhibition and production of ROS as modes of NRTI induced mitochondrial toxicity
Project description:Utilizing C. elegans as a model of mitochondrial dysfunction provides insight into cellular adaptations which occur as a consequence of genetic alterations causative of human disease. We characterized genome-wide expression profiles of hypomorhpic C. elegans mutants in nuclear-encoded subunits of respiratory chain complexes I, II and III. Our goal was to detect concordant changes among clusters of genes that comprise defined metabolic pathways utilizing gene set enrichment analysis. Experiment Overall Design: 5 biological replicates of wildtype and electron transport chain (ETC) mutant C. elegans were used as sources of total RNA, each for hybridization to a single Affymetrix whole-genome microarray. Comparison of the data was intended to reveal metabolic pathways downstream of the mutation.
Project description:Sirtuins, a family of histone deacetylases, have a fiercely debated role in regulating lifespan of different species. Contrasting recent observations, we here find that overexpression of sir-2.1, the orthologue of mammalian SirT1, does extend C. elegans lifespan. Sirtuins are known to convert NAD+ into nicotinamide (NAM). We here find that NAM and its metabolite, 1-methylnicotinamide (MNA), extend C. elegans lifespan, also in the absence of sir-2.1. Consistently, impairment of sir-2.1 prevents extension of lifespan by nicotinic acid (NA), a NAD+ precursor. Taken together, sirtuins extend lifespan by promoting formation of MNA to generate a phase I - mediated ROS signal, providing an unexpected mechanistic role for sirtuins beyond histone deacetylation.
Project description:The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has evolutionarily conserved EV signaling pathways. In this study, we apply a recently published method for high specificity purification of EVs from C. elegans to carry out target-independent proteomic and RNA analysis of EVs from C. elegans. Our experiments uncovered diverse coding and non-coding RNA transcripts as well as protein cargo types commonly found in human EVs.