Emerging topics in C. elegans aging research: Transcriptional regulation, stress response and epigenetics

• Published in: Mechanisms of ageing and development Vol. 177; pp. 4 - 21
• Main Authors: Denzel, Martin S., Lapierre, Louis R., Mack, Hildegard I.D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 01-01-2019
• Subjects: Aging; Animals; C. elegans; Caenorhabditis elegans - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans - metabolism; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - metabolism; Epigenesis, Genetic - physiology; Epigenetic; Longevity - physiology; Proteostasis; Signal Transduction - physiology; Stress, Physiological - physiology; Transcription factors; Transcription, Genetic - physiology; Aging; C. elegans; Transcription factors; Proteostasis; Epigenetic
• ISSN: 0047-6374; 1872-6216
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mad.2018.08.001

•Multiple transcription factors can modulate transcriptional signatures that improves somatic maintenance and longevity.•Neuroendocrine signals, reactive oxygen species and hydrogen disulfide can modulate stress responses.•Cellular mechanisms affecting organelle-specific and global proteostasis influence lifespan.•Epigenetic modifications are key mechanisms for somatic and transgenerational modulation of longevity mechanisms.
Key discoveries in aging research have been made possible with the use of model organisms. Caenorhabditis elegans is a short-lived nematode that has become a well-established system to study aging. The practicality and powerful genetic manipulations associated with this metazoan have revolutionized our ability to understand how organisms age. 25 years after the publication of the discovery of the daf-2 gene as a genetic modifier of lifespan, C. elegans remains as relevant as ever in the quest to understand the process of aging. Nematode aging research has proven useful in identifying transcriptional regulators, small molecule signals, cellular mechanisms, epigenetic modifications associated with stress resistance and longevity, and lifespan-extending compounds. Here, we review recent discoveries and selected topics that have emerged in aging research using this incredible little worm.