Project description:Oxygen (O2) is a double-edged sword to cells for while it is vital for energy production in all aerobic animals and insufficient O2 (hypoxia) can lead to cell death, the reoxygenation of hypoxic tissues may trigger the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can destroy any biological molecule. Indeed, both hypoxia and hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) stress are harmful, and may play a critical role in the pathophysiology of many human diseases such as myocardial ischemia and stroke. Therefore, understanding how animals adapt to hypoxia and H/R stress is critical for developing better treatments for these diseases. Previous studies showed that the neuroglobin GLB-5(Haw) is essential for the fast recovery of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) from H/R stress. Here, we characterize the changes in neuronal gene expression during the adaptation of worms to hypoxia and recovery from H/R stress. Our analysis show that innate immunity genes are differentially expressed during both adaptation to hypoxia and recovery from H/R stress.
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.
Project description:We have investigated how the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans responds to and metabolizes albendazole; an important anthelmintic for human and animal parasite control. The transcriptional response of the mutant strain CB3474 ben-1(e1880)III, which is highly resistant to benzimidazoles due to a null mutation in the β-tubulin drug target, was examined. This approach was successful in minimizing transcriptional responses associated with non-specific stress or with the drug mode of action, resulting in only in a small subset of genes showing differential expression in response to drug exposure.
Project description:Although non-coplanar PCBs are ubiquitous organic chemicals known to induce numerous biological responses and thus are toxic to man and wildlife, little is known about the toxic mode of action. Using PCB52, an ortho-substituted, 2,2’,5,5’-tetrachlorobiphenyl, it was possible to pinpoint the relationship between induced gene expression and observed toxicity in the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Keywords: stress response
Project description:Natural genetic variation is the raw material of evolution and influences disease development and progression. To analyze the effect of the genetic background on protein expression in the nematode C. elegans (Caenorhabditis elegans), the two genetically highly divergent wild-type strains N2 (Bristol) and CB4856 (Hawaii) were compared quantitatively. In total, we quantified 3,238 unique proteins in three independent SILAC (stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture) experiments. The differentially expressed proteins were enriched for genes that function in insulin-signaling and stress response pathways.
Project description:We have investigated how the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans responds to and metabolizes albendazole; an important anthelmintic for human and animal parasite control. The transcriptional response of the mutant strain CB3474 ben-1(e1880)III, which is highly resistant to benzimidazoles due to a null mutation in the β-tubulin drug target, was examined. This approach was successful in minimizing transcriptional responses associated with non-specific stress or with the drug mode of action, resulting in only in a small subset of genes showing differential expression in response to drug exposure. Matched cultures of synchronised C. elegans were grown to young adult stage in liquid culture. The nematodes were then exposed to 300 ug/ml albendazole (ABZ) or exposed only to the DMSO excipient used to deliver the albendazole (CONT) for 4 hours. RNA was extracted from three biological replicates and hybridised to Affymetrix arrays.
Project description:N2 young adult animals were analyzed four hours after exposure to wild-type Candida albicans DAY185, heat-killed C. albicans DAY185 and heat-killed Escherichia coli OP50, all on Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) agar. It was necessary to use heat-killed E. coli OP50 as a control for these experiments because live E. coli OP50 (the normal nematode food source) is pathogenic to nematodes on BHI agar. These data identify the C. elegans genes that are differentially regulated during nematode infection with a human fungal pathogen.