title: High transcript levels of heat-shock genes are associated with shorter lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: Individual lifespans of isogenic organisms, such as Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes, fruit flies, and mice, vary greatly even under identical environmental conditions. To study the molecular mechanisms responsible for such variability, we used an assay based on the measurement of post-reproductive nematode movements stimulated by a moderate electric field. This assay allows for the separation of individual nematodes based on their speed. We show that this phenotype could be used as a biomarker for aging because it is a better predictor of lifespan than chronological age. Fast nematodes have longer lifespans, fewer protein carbonyls, higher heat-shock resistance, and higher transcript levels of the daf-16 and hsf-1 genes, which code for the stress response transcription factors, than slow nematodes. High transcript levels of the genes coding for heat-shock proteins observed in slow nematodes correlate with lower heat-shock resistance, more protein carbonyls, and shorter lifespan. Taken together, our data suggests that shorter lifespan results from early-life damage accumulation that causes subsequent faster age-related deterioration.
authors.affiliation: Inserm Unit 1001, Université Paris-Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté de Médecine Paris Descartes, 75014 Paris, France.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Manière
authors.affiliation: Inserm Unit 1001, Université Paris-Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté de Médecine Paris Descartes, 75014 Paris, France; Mediterranean Institute for Life Sciences (MedILS), 21000 Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krisko
authors.affiliation: Inserm Unit 1001, Université Paris-Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté de Médecine Paris Descartes, 75014 Paris, France; NAOS group/Jean-Noël Thorel, 13855 Aix-en-Provence, France.
authors.forename: F X
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Pellay
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, UMR7057, CNRS & Université Paris Diderot, 75013 Paris, France.
authors.forename: J-M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Di Meglio
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, UMR7057, CNRS & Université Paris Diderot, 75013 Paris, France; MechanoBiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hersen
authors.affiliation: Inserm Unit 1001, Université Paris-Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté de Médecine Paris Descartes, 75014 Paris, France. Electronic address: ivan.matic@inserm.fr.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matic
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018869:Heat-Shock Response; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D009043:Motor Activity; D050050:Protein Carbonylation; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins
keywords: Biomarker of aging; Caenorhabditis elegans; Electrotaxis; Heat-shock proteins; Phenotypic variability; Protein oxidation