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Journal of Applied Toxicology : JAT Jan 2017Caenorhabditis elegans is a small nematode that can be maintained at low cost and handled using standard in vitro techniques. Unlike toxicity testing using cell... (Review)
Review
Caenorhabditis elegans is a small nematode that can be maintained at low cost and handled using standard in vitro techniques. Unlike toxicity testing using cell cultures, C. elegans toxicity assays provide data from a whole animal with intact and metabolically active digestive, reproductive, endocrine, sensory and neuromuscular systems. Toxicity ranking screens in C. elegans have repeatedly been shown to be as predictive of rat LD ranking as mouse LD ranking. Additionally, many instances of conservation of mode of toxic action have been noted between C. elegans and mammals. These consistent correlations make the case for inclusion of C. elegans assays in early safety testing and as one component in tiered or integrated toxicity testing strategies, but do not indicate that nematodes alone can replace data from mammals for hazard evaluation. As with cell cultures, good C. elegans culture practice (GCeCP) is essential for reliable results. This article reviews C. elegans use in various toxicity assays, the C. elegans model's strengths and limitations for use in predictive toxicology, and GCeCP. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Journal of Applied Toxicology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Topics: Animal Use Alternatives; Animals; Caenorhabditis elegans; Lethal Dose 50; Toxicity Tests
PubMed: 27443595
DOI: 10.1002/jat.3357 -
Genetics Oct 2017Lipid and carbohydrate metabolism are highly conserved processes that affect nearly all aspects of organismal biology. eat bacteria, which consist of lipids,... (Review)
Review
Lipid and carbohydrate metabolism are highly conserved processes that affect nearly all aspects of organismal biology. eat bacteria, which consist of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins that are broken down during digestion into fatty acids, simple sugars, and amino acid precursors. With these nutrients, synthesizes a wide range of metabolites that are required for development and behavior. In this review, we outline lipid and carbohydrate structures as well as biosynthesis and breakdown pathways that have been characterized in We bring attention to functional studies using mutant strains that reveal physiological roles for specific lipids and carbohydrates during development, aging, and adaptation to changing environmental conditions.
Topics: Animals; Caenorhabditis elegans; Carbohydrate Metabolism; Lipid Metabolism
PubMed: 28978773
DOI: 10.1534/genetics.117.300106 -
Molecules and Cells Feb 2017is an important model organism with many useful features, including rapid development and aging, easy cultivation, and genetic tractability. Survival assays using are... (Review)
Review
is an important model organism with many useful features, including rapid development and aging, easy cultivation, and genetic tractability. Survival assays using are powerful methods for studying physiological processes. In this review, we describe diverse types of survival assays and discuss the aims, uses, and advantages of specific assays. survival assays have played key roles in identifying novel genetic factors that regulate many aspects of animal physiology, such as aging and lifespan, stress response, and immunity against pathogens. Because many genetic factors discovered using are evolutionarily conserved, survival assays can provide insights into mechanisms underlying physiological processes in mammals, including humans.
Topics: Animals; Caenorhabditis elegans; Longevity; Models, Animal
PubMed: 28241407
DOI: 10.14348/molcells.2017.0017 -
WormBook : the Online Review of C.... Aug 2018The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans relies on its innate immune defenses to counter infection. In this review, we focus on its response to infection by bacterial and... (Review)
Review
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans relies on its innate immune defenses to counter infection. In this review, we focus on its response to infection by bacterial and fungal pathogens. We describe the different families of effector proteins that contribute to host defense, as well as the signal transduction pathways that regulate their expression. We discuss what is known of the activation of innate immunity in C. elegans, via pathogen recognition or sensing the damage provoked by infection. Damage causes a stress response; we review the role of stress signaling in host defense to infection. We examine examples of inter-tissue communication in innate immunity and end with a survey of post-transcriptional regulation of innate immune responses.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Caenorhabditis elegans; Fungi; Immunity, Innate; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 26694508
DOI: 10.1895/wormbook.1.83.2 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Dec 2021In the forms of either herbs or functional foods, plants and their products have attracted medicinal, culinary, and nutraceutical applications due to their abundance in... (Review)
Review
In the forms of either herbs or functional foods, plants and their products have attracted medicinal, culinary, and nutraceutical applications due to their abundance in bioactive phytochemicals. Human beings and other animals have employed those bioactive phytochemicals to improve health quality based on their broad potentials as antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and anti-aging effects, amongst others. For the past decade and half, efforts to discover bioactive phytochemicals both in pure and crude forms have been intensified using the aging model, in which various metabolic pathways in humans are highly conserved. In this review, we summarized the aging and longevity pathways that are common to and humans and collated some of the bioactive phytochemicals with health benefits and lifespan extending effects that have been studied in . This simple animal model is not only a perfect system for discovering bioactive compounds but is also a research shortcut for elucidating the amelioration mechanisms of aging risk factors and associated diseases.
Topics: Aging; Animals; Caenorhabditis elegans; Humans; Longevity; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Phytochemicals
PubMed: 34885907
DOI: 10.3390/molecules26237323 -
Genetics Oct 2020' behavioral states, like those of other animals, are shaped by its immediate environment, its past experiences, and by internal factors. We here review the literature... (Review)
Review
' behavioral states, like those of other animals, are shaped by its immediate environment, its past experiences, and by internal factors. We here review the literature on behavioral states and their regulation. We discuss dwelling and roaming, local and global search, mate finding, sleep, and the interaction between internal metabolic states and behavior.
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Caenorhabditis elegans; Energy Metabolism; Genetics, Behavioral; Sleep
PubMed: 33023930
DOI: 10.1534/genetics.120.303539 -
WormBook : the Online Review of C.... Feb 2006
Review
Topics: Animals; Biological Specimen Banks; Caenorhabditis elegans; Culture Media; Freezing
PubMed: 18050451
DOI: 10.1895/wormbook.1.101.1 -
Individual cell types in C. elegans age differently and activate distinct cell-protective responses.Cell Reports Aug 2023Aging is characterized by a global decline in physiological function. However, by constructing a complete single-cell gene expression atlas, we find that Caenorhabditis...
Aging is characterized by a global decline in physiological function. However, by constructing a complete single-cell gene expression atlas, we find that Caenorhabditis elegans aging is not random in nature but instead is characterized by coordinated changes in functionally related metabolic, proteostasis, and stress-response genes in a cell-type-specific fashion, with downregulation of energy metabolism being the only nearly universal change. Similarly, the rates at which cells age differ significantly between cell types. In some cell types, aging is characterized by an increase in cell-to-cell variance, whereas in others, variance actually decreases. Remarkably, multiple resilience-enhancing transcription factors known to extend lifespan are activated across many cell types with age; we discovered new longevity candidates, such as GEI-3, among these. Together, our findings suggest that cells do not age passively but instead react strongly, and individualistically, to events that occur during aging. This atlas can be queried through a public interface.
Topics: Animals; Caenorhabditis elegans; Aging; Cellular Senescence; Energy Metabolism; Longevity; Transcription Factors; Homeostasis; Single-Cell Gene Expression Analysis; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; Cell Physiological Phenomena
PubMed: 37531250
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112902 -
Journal of Neurogenetics 2020I review the history of sleep research in , briefly introduce the four articles in this issue focused on worm sleep and propose future directions our field might take. (Review)
Review
I review the history of sleep research in , briefly introduce the four articles in this issue focused on worm sleep and propose future directions our field might take.
Topics: Animals; Caenorhabditis elegans; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; Larva; Motor Activity; Sleep; Transcription Factors
PubMed: 33446018
DOI: 10.1080/01677063.2020.1833007 -
Microbiological Research Oct 2018Caenorhabditis elegans is a model organism for the study of different molecular, biochemical, microbial and immunity-related mechanisms. In its natural habitat, C.... (Review)
Review
Caenorhabditis elegans is a model organism for the study of different molecular, biochemical, microbial and immunity-related mechanisms. In its natural habitat, C. elegans survives by feeding microorganisms (mainly bacteria), though majorly on Escherichia coli OP50 when grown in the laboratory. Numerous bacteria are shown to influence the lifespan, behavioural responses and innate immunity of C. elegans. The secondary metabolites produced by bacteria have shown to play key role in C. elegans longevity. This behaviour provides insights for potential development of new strategies for the treatment of diseases in other species, including humans. This review explains the concept of C. elegans microbiome, different mechanisms employed in its longevity and resistance against bacterial pathogens and the effects of various bacteria (both beneficial and harmful) as well as their products on the life cycle of C. elegans.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Bacterial Infections; Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; Caenorhabditis elegans; Disease Resistance; Environment; Escherichia coli; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Immunity, Innate; Life Cycle Stages; Longevity; Metabolome; Microbiota; Models, Animal; Secondary Metabolism; Virulence
PubMed: 30172296
DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2018.06.012