Autophagy and Lipid Metabolism Coordinately Modulate Life Span in Germline-less C. elegans

Autophagy and Lipid Metabolism Coordinately Modulate Life Span in Germline-less C. elegans

BACKGROUND The cellular recycling process of autophagy is emerging as a key player in several longevity pathways in Caenorhabditis elegans. Here, we identify a role for autophagy in long-lived animals lacking a germline and show that autophagy and lipid metabolism work interdependently to modulate aging in this longevity model. RESULTS Germline removal extends life span in C. elegans via gene...

Extending life-span in C. elegans.

The life-span of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans can be extended by at least six different mechanisms, including calorie restriction, reduced Ins/IGF-1 signaling, germline ablation, food sensing amphid ablation, mitochondrial deficiency, and decreased temperature. Reduced Ins/IGF-1 signaling and calorie restriction can also increase the life-span of flies and mice. The Brevia "Healthy anima...

Autophagy and modular restructuring of metabolism control germline tumor differentiation and proliferation in C. elegans.

Autophagy can act either as a tumor suppressor or as a survival mechanism for established tumors. To understand how autophagy plays this dual role in cancer, in vivo models are required. By using a highly heterogeneous C. elegans germline tumor, we show that autophagy-related proteins are expressed in a specific subset of tumor cells, neurons. Inhibition of autophagy impairs neuronal differenti...

Neuronal inhibition of the autophagy nucleation complex extends life span in post-reproductive C. elegans.

Autophagy is a ubiquitous catabolic process that causes cellular bulk degradation of cytoplasmic components and is generally associated with positive effects on health and longevity. Inactivation of autophagy has been linked with detrimental effects on cells and organisms. The antagonistic pleiotropy theory postulates that some fitness-promoting genes during youth are harmful during aging. On t...

Rictor/TORC2 Regulates Fat Metabolism, Feeding, Growth and Life Span in C. elegans