Betaine-rich sugar beet molasses protects from homocysteine-induced reduction of survival in Caenorhabditis elegans.

PURPOSE: Homocysteine (Hcy) in humans represents a blood-borne biomarker which predicts the risk of age-related diseases and mortality. Using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, we tested whether feeding betaine-rich sugar beet molasses affects the survival under heat stress in the presence of Hcy, in spite of a gene loss in betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase. METHODS: Knockdown of the genes relevant for remethylation or transsulfuration of Hcy was achieved by RNA interference (RNAi). Survival assay was conducted under heat stress at 37 °C and Hcy levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Addition of 500 mg/l betaine-rich sugar beet molasses (SBM) prevented the survival reduction that was caused by exposure to Hcy at 37 °C. Although SBM was no longer capable of reducing Hcy levels under RNAi versus homologues for 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase or cystathionine-ß-synthase, it still enabled the survival extension by SBM under exposure to Hcy. In contrast, RNAi for the small heat shock protein hsp-16.2 or the foxo transcription factor daf-16 both prevented the extension of survival by betaine-rich molasses in the presence of Hcy. CONCLUSIONS: Our studies demonstrate that betaine-rich SBM is able to prevent survival reduction caused by Hcy in C. elegans in dependence on hsp-16.2 and daf-16 but independent of the remethylation pathway.

The polyphenol quercetin protects from glucotoxicity depending on the aggresome in Caenorhabditis elegans.

PURPOSE: Impaired proteostasis, i.e., protein homeostasis, is considered as a consequence of high-glucose exposure and is associated with reduced survival. The previous studies demonstrated that the polyphenol quercetin can protect from glucotoxicity. The aim of the present study was to unravel the contribution of the aggresome, sequestering potentially cytotoxic aggregates and also acting as a staging center for eventual autophagic clearance from the cell. METHODS: Knockdown of the aggresome-relevant genes dnc-1 and ubql-1 was achieved in stress-sensitive mev-1 mutants of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans by RNA interference (RNAi). Survival assay was conducted under heat stress at 37 °C, protein aggregation using ProteoStat® and chymotrypsin-like proteasomal activity according to the cleavage of a fluorogenic peptide substrate. RESULTS: Survival was reduced by knockdown of ubql-1 and even more by knockdown of dnc-1 which both were not further reduced by addition of glucose. The rescue of survival due to quercetin in glucose-exposed nematodes was completely prevented under RNAi versus ubql-1 or dnc-1. Both knockdowns caused an increase of aggregated protein and prevented the reduction of aggregated protein caused by quercetin in glucose-exposed animals. Finally, the knockdown of ubql-1 and dnc-1 blocked the increase of proteasomal activity achieved by quercetin in glucose-treated nematodes. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides evidence that quercetin protects C. elegans from glucotoxicity through the activation of the aggresome, thereby, quercetin prevents the aggregation and functional loss of proteins, which is typically caused by enhanced glucose concentrations.

Inhibition of mitophagy decreases survival of Caenorhabditis elegans by increasing protein aggregation.

Autophagy of mitochondria, i.e., mitophagy, plays a crucial role in coping with stressors in the aging process, metabolic disturbances, and neurological disorders. Impairments of the process might consequently lead to enhanced accumulation of aged and aggregated proteins and reduced cellular integrity in response to stress. In the present study, we used the stress-sensitive mutant mev-1 of Caenorhabditis elegans to assess the effects of the knockdown of mitophagy relevant genes on survival under heat stress, the amount of autophagosomes, and on protein aggregation. RNA interference for dct-1, drp-1, eat-3, fis-1, fzo1, glb-1, pink-1, and pgam-5 all resulted in a significant reduction of survival time at 37 °C. These effects were associated with a decrease in autophagosomal flux of proteins, as indicated by increased accumulation of GFP-tagged SQST-1, and a reduced amount of lysosomes demonstrating that autophagy was hampered. Moreover, the gene knockdowns led to increased levels of reactive oxygen species in mitochondria and an enhanced protein aggregation. In conclusion, our studies show that mitophagy is of central importance to keep mitochondria functional in order to prevent production of excess reactive oxygen species and protein aggregation and finally a reduction of survival under heat stress.

Betaine reduces ß-amyloid-induced paralysis through activation of cystathionine-ß-synthase in an Alzheimer model of Caenorhabditis elegans.

BACKGROUND: The neurodegenerative disorder Alzheimer's disease is caused by the accumulation of toxic aggregates of ß-amyloid in the human brain. On the one hand, hyperhomocysteinemia has been shown to be a risk factor for cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. On the other hand, betaine has been demonstrated to attenuate Alzheimer-like pathological changes induced by homocysteine. It is reasonable to conclude that this is due to triggering the remethylation pathway mediated by betaine-homocysteine-methyltransferase. In the present study, we used the transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans strain CL2006, to test whether betaine is able to reduce ß-amyloid-induced paralysis in C. elegans. This model expresses human ß-amyloid 1-42 under control of a muscle-specific promoter that leads to progressive, age-dependent paralysis in the nematodes. RESULTS: Betaine at a concentration of 100 µM was able to reduce homocysteine levels in the presence and absence of 1 mM homocysteine. Simultaneously, betaine both reduced normal paralysis rates in the absence of homocysteine and increased paralysis rates triggered by addition of homocysteine. Knockdown of cystathionine-ß-synthase using RNA interference both increased homocysteine levels and paralysis. Additionally, it prevented the reducing effects of betaine on homocysteine levels and paralysis. CONCLUSION: Our studies show that betaine is able to reduce homocysteine levels and ß-amyloid-induced toxicity in a C. elegans model for Alzheimer's disease. This effect is independent of the remethylation pathway but requires the transsulfuration pathway mediated by cystathionine-ß-synthase.

Inhibition of chaperone-mediated autophagy prevents glucotoxicity in the Caenorhabditis elegans mev-1 mutant by activation of the proteasome.

Chronic hyperglycemia is a hallmark of diabetes mellitus and the main cause of diabetes-associated complications. Increased intracellular glucose levels lead to damaged proteins and in consequence disturb cellular proteostasis. As an important contributor to the maintenance and restoration of proteostasis, autophagy mediates the lysosomal degradation of damaged proteins or entire cellular organelles. In the present study we used the stress-sensitive mev-1 mutant of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans in order to assess the role of lmp-2, a homologue of the lysosome associated membrane protein type 2A, in the context of glucotoxicity, which was achieved by feeding glucose in a liquid medium. Knockdown of lmp-2 by RNA interference completely prevented the survival reduction caused by glucose under heat stress. Those effects were associated with the prevention of (1) increased lysosome formation and (2) reduction of proteasomal activity, which were observed under glucose feeding. Finally, the survival reduction due to knockdown of ubiquitin remained unaffected by the additional lmp-2 knockdown in the absence or presence of glucose. In conclusion, our study provides evidence that lmp-2, a key player in chaperone-mediated autophagy, is functional in C. elegans, too. Inhibition of lmp-2 prevents the reduction of proteasomal activity by glucose and thereby prevents also glucotoxicity.

PEK-1 is crucial for hormesis induced by inhibition of the IRE-1/XBP-1 pathway in the Caenorhabditis elegans mev-1 mutant.

The accumulation of unfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) causes an imbalance of proteostasis and is related to many pathological conditions. In answer to this ER stress cells activate a network of three integrated signaling pathways consolidated as the unfolded protein response of the ER (UPR(ER)), which is also present in the stress-sensitive Caenorhabditis elegans mutant mev-1. Whereas inhibition of one of those pathways by RNA-interference (RNAi) versus xbp-1 results in reduced survival of mev-1 nematodes under heat stress, additional knockdown of the xbp-1 splicing activator ire-1 results in a PEK-1-dependent hormetic response. In contrast, increased survival under ire-1/xbp-1 double RNAi was found to be independent of the presence of HSP-4, an UPR(ER)-specific chaperone, as evidenced under ire-1/xbp-1/hsp-4 triple knockdown conditions. Moreover, ire-1/xbp-1 double-RNAi significantly increased chymotrypsin-like proteasomal activity, which was completely blocked under additional RNAi versus pek-1. In conclusion, we identified PEK-1 as a mediator of hormesis in the mev-1 mutant of C. elegans which is induced by simultaneous inhibition of XBP-1 and its splicing activator IRE-1 and mediated through activation of the proteasome.

Resveratrol reduces amyloid-beta (Aß1₋42)-induced paralysis through targeting proteostasis in an Alzheimer model of Caenorhabditis elegans.

PURPOSE: Resveratrol is a polyphenol present in red wine for which the capability of directly interfering with the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), i.e. toxic ß-amyloid protein (Aß) aggregation, has been shown recently. Since the stimulation of proteostasis could explain reduced Aß-aggregation, we searched for proteostasis targets of resveratrol. METHODS: The transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans strain CL2006, expressing Aß1-42 under control of a muscle-specific promoter and responding to Aß-toxicity with paralysis, was used as a model. Target identification was accomplished through specific knockdowns of proteostasis genes by RNA interference. Effects of resveratrol on protein aggregation were identified using ProteoStat(®) Detection Reagent, and activation of proteasomal degradation by resveratrol was finally proven using a specific fluorogenic peptide substrate. RESULTS: Resveratrol at a concentration of 100 µM caused a 40 % decrease in paralysis. UBL-5 involved in unfolded protein response (UPR) in mitochondria proved to be necessary for the prevention of Aß-toxicity by resveratrol. Also XBP-1, which represents an endoplasmic reticulum-resident factor involved in UPR, was identified to be necessary for the effects of resveratrol. Regarding protein degradation pathways, the inhibition of macroautophagy and chaperone-mediated autophagy prevented resveratrol from reducing paralysis as did the inhibition of proteasomal degradation. Finally, resveratrol reduced the amount of lysosomes, suggesting increased flux of proteins through the autophagy pathways and activated proteasomal degradation. CONCLUSIONS: Resveratrol reduces the Aß-induced toxicity in a C. elegans model of AD by targeting specific proteins involved in proteostasis and thereby reduces the amount of aggregated Aß.

A catechin-enriched green tea extract prevents glucose-induced survival reduction in Caenorhabditis elegans through sir-2.1 and uba-1 dependent hormesis.

Hyperglycemia is a hallmark of diabetes mellitus which leads to the onset of complications in the long term. Green tea through its high content of polyphenolic catechins, on the other hand, is suggested to prevent or at least delay such detrimental complications. In the present study we fed the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans on a liquid medium supplemented with 10mM glucose in the absence or presence of a catechin-enriched green tea extract (CEGTE). After exposure of young adults for 48h survival was subsequently measured under heat stress at 37°C. Whereas CEGTE at 0.01% did not affect the survival of wild type nematodes, it completely reversed the glucose-induced survival reduction. Those effects were not achieved through the monomeric catechins included in CEGTE. RNA interference (RNAi) for sir-2.1 not only prevented the survival extension by CEGTE under simultaneous glucose exposure but also caused a further reduction of survival. Likewise, the knockdown of uba-1, encoding the only E1-ubiquitin-activating enzyme in C. elegans, proved that UBA-1 is essential for the survival extension by CEGTE and that its loss of function changes CEGTE from a survival extending into a survival reducing extract. Stimulation of the proteasome by CEGTE was finally proven through measurements of the proteolytic cleavage of a fluorogenic peptide substrate. To conclude, our studies provide evidence that CEGTE reverses glucose-induced damage in C. elegans through activation of adaptive responses mediated by SIR-2.1 and proteasomal degradation. The hormetic mode of action is revealed by a reduction of survival once the adaptive processes were blocked.

Carnitine protects the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans from glucose-induced reduction of survival depending on the nuclear hormone receptor DAF-12.

Besides its function in transport of fatty acids into mitochondria in order to provide substrates for ß-oxidation, carnitine has been shown to affect also glucose metabolism and to inhibit several mechanisms associated with diabetic complications. In the present study we used the mev-1 mutant of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans fed on a high glucose concentration in liquid media as a diabetes model and tested the effects of carnitine supplementation on their survival under heat-stress. Carnitine at 100 µM completely prevented the survival reduction that was caused by the application of 10 mM glucose. RNA-interference for sir-2.1, a candidate genes mediating the effects of carnitine revealed no contribution of the sirtuin for the rescue of survival. Under daf-12 RNAi rescue of survival by carnitine was abolished. RNA-interference for γ-butyrobetaine hydroxylase 2, encoding the key enzyme for carnitine biosynthesis did neither increase glucose toxicity nor prevent the rescue of survival by carnitine, suggesting that the effects of carnitine supplementation on carnitine levels were significant. Finally, it was demonstrated that neither the amount of lysosomes nor the proteasomal activity were increased by carnitine, excluding that protein degradation pathways, such as autophagy or proteasomal degradation, are involved in the protective carnitine effects. In conclusion, carnitine supplementation prevents the reduction of survival caused by glucose in C. elegans in dependence on a nuclear hormone receptor which displays high homologies to the vertebrate peroxisomal proliferator activated receptors.

The zinc matrix metalloproteinase ZMP-2 increases survival of Caenorhabditis elegans through interference with lipoprotein absorption.

Matrix metalloproteinases are zinc-dependent endopeptidases conserved throughout the animal kingdom which primarily degrade components of the extracellular matrix. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the zinc matrix metalloproteinase (ZMP-2) was demonstrated to increase resistance versus heat and bacterial pathogens. Here, we show that the survival reducing activities caused by the knockdown of zmp-2 in C. elegans essentially requires the presence of vitellogenin-6, a protein homologous to mammalian apolipoprotein B, and RME-2, a receptor mediating endocytosis of cholesterol particles. Measurements of reactive oxygen species inside and outside C. elegans revealed that knockdown of zmp-2 causes a prooxidative extracellular mileu which is a prerequisite for the reduction of survival. Interestingly, RNAi for the foxo transcription factor daf-16 completely prevented those survival reducing effects of zmp-2 RNAi, and RNAi in mutants of the steroid signalling pathway revealed that DAF-16 acts by inhibition of DAF-9 and DAF-12. In conclusion, our study demonstrates survival reducing activities caused by the functional loss of ZMP-2 in C. elegans. Those effects are mediated by the transport of oxidized cholesterol adducts which then trigger the inhibition of DAF-9 and DAF-12 through the activation of DAF-16.

The polyphenol quercetin protects the mev-1 mutant of Caenorhabditis elegans from glucose-induced reduction of survival under heat-stress depending on SIR-2.1, DAF-12, and proteasomal activity.

SCOPE: Hyperglycemia is a hallmark of diabetes mellitus but slighter increases of blood glucose levels are observed also during ageing. Using the Caenorhabditis elegans mev-1 mutant, we identified molecular mechanisms underlying the protection from glucose toxicity by the polyphenol quercetin. METHODS AND RESULTS: We fed C. elegans mev-1 mutants on a liquid medium supplemented with 10 mM glucose, which resulted in a reduced survival at 37°C. The polyphenol quercetin (1 µM) was able to prevent glucose-induced lifespan reduction completely. RNA interference revealed that the sirtuin SIR-2.1, the nuclear hormone receptor DAF-12, and its putative co-activator MDT-15 were critical for the quercetin effects. Moreover, RNA interference for key factors of proteostasis reduced survival, which was not further affected by glucose or quercetin, suggesting that those proteins are a target for both substances. Besides unfolded protein response, proper functionality of the proteasome was shown to be crucial for the survival enhancing effects of quercetin and the polyphenol was finally demonstrated to activate proteasomal degradation. CONCLUSION: Our studies demonstrate that lowest concentrations of quercetin prevent a glucose-induced reduction of survival. SIR-2.1, DAF-12, and MDT-15 were identified as targets that activate unfolded protein response and proteasomal degradation to limit the accumulation of functionally restricted proteins.

Effects of plant extracts on the reversal of glucose-induced impairment of stress-resistance in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Enhanced blood glucose levels are a hallmark of diabetes and are associated with diabetic complications and a reduction of lifespan. In order to search for plant extracts that display preventive activities in such a scenario, we tested 16 extracts used in human nutrition for their survival enhancing activities in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Nematodes were exposed for 48 h to 10 mM glucose in the absence or presence of 0.1% extract. Thereafter, survival was measured at 37 °C. Extracts made from coffee, kola, rooibos and cinnamon, did not influence the glucose-induced reduction of survival. Those made from ginseng, camomile, lime blossom, paraguay tea, balm, rhodiola, black tea, or knotgrass all extended the lifespan of the glucose-treated nematodes significantly but did not rescue survival completely. Extracts from the leaves of blackberries, from hibiscus, elderberries, or jiaogulan completely countered the glucose-induced survival reduction. A potent activation of the proteasome was shown for the most preventive extracts suggesting a more efficient degradation of proteins impaired by glucose. In conclusion, we present a simple animal model to screen for plant extracts with potency to reverse glucose toxicity. Extracts from blackberry leaves, hibiscus, elderberries, and jiaogulan were identified as very potent in this regard whose exact mechanisms of action appear worthwile to investigate at the molecular level.

Impairment of the proteasome is crucial for glucose-induced lifespan reduction in the mev-1 mutant of Caenorhabditis elegans.

Hyperglycemia is a hallmark of diabetes that is associated with diabetic complications and a reduction of lifespan. Using the mev-1 mutant of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans we here tried to identify molecular mechanisms underlying the lifespan reducing effects of glucose. The lowest glucose concentration tested (10mM) caused a significant lifespan reduction at 37°C and was used to assess effects on mitochondrial efficiency, formation of protein carbonyls and levels of methylglyoxal, a precursor of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). RNA-interference (RNAi) served the identification of targets for glucose-induced damage. Levels of protein carbonyls and AGEs remained unaffected by 10mM glucose. Levels of reactive oxygen species inside mitochondria were increased but their scavenging by ascorbic acid did not influence lifespan reduction by glucose. Mitochondrial efficiency was reduced by glucose as concluded from a lowered P/O-ratio. A reduced lifespan of mev-1 that was unaffected by the addition of glucose resulted from RNAi of key players of mitochondrial unfolded protein response. Besides increased accumulation of misfolded proteins, reduced proteasomal degradation caused the same phenotype as was evidenced by RNAi for UBQ-1 or UBA-1. Accumulation of functionally impaired proteins, e.g. in mitochondria, underlies the lifespan reducing effects of glucose. Our study provides evidence for a crucial importance of the proteostasis network for lifespan regulation which is impaired by glucose.