Antioxidant response is a protective mechanism against nutrient deprivation in C. elegans.

Abstract

Animals often experience periods of nutrient deprivation; however, the molecular mechanisms by which animals survive starvation remain largely unknown. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the nuclear receptor DAF-12 acts as a dietary and environmental sensor to orchestrate diverse aspects of development, metabolism, and reproduction. Recently, we have reported that DAF-12 together with co-repressor DIN-1S is required for starvation tolerance by promoting fat mobilization. In this report, we found that genetic inactivation of the DAF-12 signaling promoted the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during starvation. ROS mediated systemic necrosis, thereby inducing organismal death. The DAF-12/DIN-1S complex up-regulated the expression of antioxidant genes during starvation. The antioxidant enzyme GST-4 in turn suppressed ROS formation, thereby conferring worm survival. Our findings highlight the importance of antioxidant response in starvation tolerance and provide a novel insight into multiple organisms survive and adapt to periods of nutrient deprivation.

• Authors: Jun Tao, Qin-Yi Wu, Yi-Cheng Ma, Yuan-Li Chen, Cheng-Gang Zou
• Journal: Scientific reports (Sci Rep) Vol. 7 Pg. 43547 (02 23 2017) ISSN: 2045-2322 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 28230214 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Antioxidants
• Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
• Reactive Oxygen Species

Topics

• Animals
• Antioxidants (metabolism)
• Caenorhabditis elegans (drug effects, genetics, metabolism)
• Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins (genetics, metabolism)
• Gene Expression Regulation
• Mutation
• Necrosis (genetics, metabolism, pathology)
• Reactive Oxygen Species (metabolism)
• Signal Transduction
• Starvation (metabolism)