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Jushaj A, Churgin M, De La Torre M, Kieswetter A, Driesschaert B, Dhondt I, Braeckman BP, Fang-Yen C, Temmerman L. Adult-restricted gene knock-down reveals candidates that affect locomotive healthspan in C. elegans. Biogerontology 2023; 24:225-233. [PMID: 36662373 DOI: 10.1007/s10522-022-10009-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how we can age healthily is a challenge at the heart of biogerontological interest. Whereas myriad genes are known to affect the lifespan of model organisms, effects of such interventions on healthspan-the period of life where an animal is considered healthy, rather than merely alive-are less clear. To understand relationships between life- and healthspan, in recent years several platforms were developed with the purpose of assessing both readouts simultaneously. We here relied on one such platform, the WorMotel, to study effects of adulthood-restricted knock-down of 130 Caenorhabditis elegans genes on the locomotive health of the animals along their lifespans. We found that knock-down of six genes affected healthspan while lifespan remained unchanged. For two of these, F26A3.4 and chn-1, knock-down resulted in an improvement of healthspan. In follow-up experiments we showed that knockdown of F26A3.4 indeed improves locomotive health and muscle structure at old age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Areta Jushaj
- Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Matthew Churgin
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Miguel De La Torre
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Amanda Kieswetter
- Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Brecht Driesschaert
- Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ineke Dhondt
- Laboratory of Aging Physiology and Molecular Evolution, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Bart P Braeckman
- Laboratory of Aging Physiology and Molecular Evolution, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | | | - Liesbet Temmerman
- Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
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Jushaj A, Churgin M, Yao B, De La Torre M, Fang-Yen C, Temmerman L. Optimized criteria for locomotion-based healthspan evaluation in C. elegans using the WorMotel system. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0229583. [PMID: 32126105 PMCID: PMC7053758 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2019] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Getting a grip on how we may age healthily is a central interest of biogerontological research. To this end, a number of academic teams developed platforms for life- and healthspan assessment in Caenorhabditis elegans. These are very appealing for medium- to high throughput screens, but a broader implementation is lacking due to many systems relying on custom scripts for data analysis that others struggle to adopt. Hence, user-friendly recommendations would help to translate raw data into interpretable results. The aim of this communication is to streamline the analysis of data obtained by the WorMotel, an economically and practically appealing screening platform, in order to facilitate the use of this system by interested researchers. We here detail recommendations for the stepwise conversion of raw image data into activity values and explain criteria for assessment of health in C. elegans based on locomotion. Our analysis protocol can easily be adopted by researchers, and all needed scripts and a tutorial are available in S1 and S2 Files.
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Affiliation(s)
- Areta Jushaj
- Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Matthew Churgin
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States of America
| | - Bowen Yao
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States of America
| | - Miguel De La Torre
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States of America
| | - Christopher Fang-Yen
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States of America
| | - Liesbet Temmerman
- Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- * E-mail:
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van Gastel J, Boddaert J, Jushaj A, Premont RT, Luttrell LM, Janssens J, Martin B, Maudsley S. GIT2-A keystone in ageing and age-related disease. Ageing Res Rev 2018; 43:46-63. [PMID: 29452267 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2018.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Revised: 02/06/2018] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Since its discovery, G protein-coupled receptor kinase-interacting protein 2, GIT2, and its family member, GIT1, have received considerable interest concerning their potential key roles in regulating multiple inter-connected physiological and pathophysiological processes. GIT2 was first identified as a multifunctional protein that is recruited to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) during the process of receptor internalization. Recent findings have demonstrated that perhaps one of the most important effects of GIT2 in physiology concerns its role in controlling multiple aspects of the complex ageing process. Ageing can be considered the most prevalent pathophysiological condition in humans, affecting all tissue systems and acting as a driving force for many common and intractable disorders. The ageing process involves a complex interplay among various deleterious activities that profoundly disrupt the body's ability to cope with damage, thus increasing susceptibility to pathophysiologies such as neurodegeneration, central obesity, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis. The biological systems that control ageing appear to function as a series of interconnected complex networks. The inter-communication among multiple lower-complexity signaling systems within the global ageing networks is likely coordinated internally by keystones or hubs, which regulate responses to dynamic molecular events through protein-protein interactions with multiple distinct partners. Multiple lines of research have suggested that GIT2 may act as one of these network coordinators in the ageing process. Identifying and targeting keystones, such as GIT2, is thus an important approach in our understanding of, and eventual ability to, medically ameliorate or interdict age-related progressive cellular and tissue damage.
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Janssens J, Lu D, Ni B, Chadwick W, Siddiqui S, Azmi A, Etienne H, Jushaj A, van Gastel J, Martin B, Maudsley S. Development of Precision Small-Molecule Proneurotrophic Therapies for Neurodegenerative Diseases. Vitam Horm 2016; 104:263-311. [PMID: 28215298 DOI: 10.1016/bs.vh.2016.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Age-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, will represent one of the largest future burdens on worldwide healthcare systems due to the increasing proportion of elderly in our society. As deficiencies in neurotrophins are implicated in the pathogenesis of many age-related neurodegenerative disorders, it is reasonable to consider that global neurotrophin resistance may also become a major healthcare threat. Central nervous system networks are effectively maintained through aging by neuroprotective and neuroplasticity signaling mechanisms which are predominantly controlled by neurotrophin receptor signaling. Neurotrophin receptors are single pass receptor tyrosine kinases that form dimeric structures upon ligand binding to initiate cellular signaling events that control many protective and plasticity-related pathways. Declining functionality of the neurotrophin ligand-receptor system is considered one of the hallmarks of neuropathological aging. Therefore, it is imperative to develop effective therapeutic strategies to contend with this significant issue. While the therapeutic applications of cognate ligands for neurotrophin receptors are limited, the development of nonpeptidergic, small-molecule ligands can overcome these limitations, and productively regulate this important receptor system with beneficial effects. Using our advanced knowledge of the high-dimensionality complexity of receptor systems, the future generation of precision medicines targeting these systems will be an attainable goal.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Janssens
- Translational Neurobiology Group, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - D Lu
- Receptor Pharmacology Unit, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore MD United States
| | - B Ni
- Receptor Pharmacology Unit, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore MD United States
| | - W Chadwick
- Receptor Pharmacology Unit, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore MD United States
| | - S Siddiqui
- Receptor Pharmacology Unit, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore MD United States
| | - A Azmi
- Translational Neurobiology Group, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - H Etienne
- Translational Neurobiology Group, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - A Jushaj
- Translational Neurobiology Group, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - J van Gastel
- Translational Neurobiology Group, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - B Martin
- Metabolism Unit, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore MD United States
| | - S Maudsley
- Translational Neurobiology Group, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium; Receptor Pharmacology Unit, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore MD United States.
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Maudsley S, Martin B, Janssens J, Etienne H, Jushaj A, van Gastel J, Willemsen A, Chen H, Gesty-Palmer D, Luttrell LM. Informatic deconvolution of biased GPCR signaling mechanisms from in vivo pharmacological experimentation. Methods 2016; 92:51-63. [PMID: 25986936 PMCID: PMC4646739 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2015.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2015] [Revised: 05/11/2015] [Accepted: 05/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Ligands possessing different physico-chemical structures productively interact with G protein-coupled receptors generating distinct downstream signaling events due to their abilities to activate/select idiosyncratic receptor entities ('receptorsomes') from the full spectrum of potential receptor partners. We have employed multiple novel informatic approaches to identify and characterize the in vivo transcriptomic signature of an arrestin-signaling biased ligand, [D-Trp(12),Tyr(34)]-bPTH(7-34), acting at the parathyroid hormone type 1 receptor (PTH1R), across six different murine tissues after chronic drug exposure. We are able to demonstrate that [D-Trp(12),Tyr(34)]-bPTH(7-34) elicits a distinctive arrestin-signaling focused transcriptomic response that is more coherently regulated, in an arrestin signaling-dependent manner, across more tissues than that of the pluripotent endogenous PTH1R ligand, hPTH(1-34). This arrestin-focused response signature is strongly linked with the transcriptional regulation of cell growth and development. Our informatic deconvolution of a conserved arrestin-dependent transcriptomic signature from wild type mice demonstrates a conceptual framework within which the in vivo outcomes of biased receptor signaling may be further investigated or predicted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart Maudsley
- Translational Neurobiology Group, VIB Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Neurogenetics, Institute Born Bunge, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
| | - Bronwen Martin
- Metabolism Unit, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Jonathan Janssens
- Translational Neurobiology Group, VIB Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Neurogenetics, Institute Born Bunge, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Harmonie Etienne
- Translational Neurobiology Group, VIB Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Neurogenetics, Institute Born Bunge, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Areta Jushaj
- Translational Neurobiology Group, VIB Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Neurogenetics, Institute Born Bunge, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Jaana van Gastel
- Translational Neurobiology Group, VIB Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Ann Willemsen
- Translational Neurobiology Group, VIB Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Antwerp, Belgium
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