{"title":"Astaxanthin promotes the longevity of <i>Caenorhabditis elegans via</i> modulation of the intracellular redox status and PHA-4-mediated autophagy.","authors":"Feng Ding, Yan Zhao","doi":"10.1039/d4fo03490b","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Astaxanthin is a xanthophyll carotenoid which has been associated with a number of health-promoting effects, including anti-aging; however, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In the present study, it was found that astaxanthin promoted the longevity of wild-type (N2) <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> (<i>C. elegans</i>). The lifespan-extending effect of astaxanthin was associated with a significant decrease of lipofuscin accumulation and the reduction of the age-related decline in spontaneous motility. Meanwhile, astaxanthin enhanced the oxidative stress resistance in <i>C. elegans</i>, preventing the elevation of the reactive oxygen species and alleviating juglone-induced toxicity. Further studies revealed that astaxanthin treatment induced the expression of the <i>skn-1</i> gene; besides, the lifespan-extending effect of astaxanthin relied on SKN-1. Additionally, the expression of <i>age-1</i>, a PI3K homolog gene, and <i>let-363</i>, a target of the rapamycin (TOR) homolog gene, was decreased, while the expression of PHA-4, a transcription factor negatively regulated by TOR signaling, was increased by astaxanthin treatment. PHA-4 has been demonstrated to regulate the expression of genes playing critical roles in the autophagy-lysosome pathway (ALP). Consistently, several key genes related to ALP, including <i>lgg-1</i>, <i>atg-5</i>, <i>vps-34</i>, <i>ncr-1</i> and <i>asm-1</i> were upregulated in <i>C. elegans</i> treated with astaxanthin. Knockdown of <i>pha-4</i> expression by siRNA prevented the elevation of the above ALP-related genes, while diminishing the lifespan-extension effect of astaxanthin. Overall, these results indicated that astaxanthin prolonged the lifespan of <i>C. elegans via</i> modulating the intracellular redox status and promoting PHA-4-mediated autophagy.</p>","PeriodicalId":77,"journal":{"name":"Food & Function","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Food & Function","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4fo03490b","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Astaxanthin is a xanthophyll carotenoid which has been associated with a number of health-promoting effects, including anti-aging; however, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In the present study, it was found that astaxanthin promoted the longevity of wild-type (N2) Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). The lifespan-extending effect of astaxanthin was associated with a significant decrease of lipofuscin accumulation and the reduction of the age-related decline in spontaneous motility. Meanwhile, astaxanthin enhanced the oxidative stress resistance in C. elegans, preventing the elevation of the reactive oxygen species and alleviating juglone-induced toxicity. Further studies revealed that astaxanthin treatment induced the expression of the skn-1 gene; besides, the lifespan-extending effect of astaxanthin relied on SKN-1. Additionally, the expression of age-1, a PI3K homolog gene, and let-363, a target of the rapamycin (TOR) homolog gene, was decreased, while the expression of PHA-4, a transcription factor negatively regulated by TOR signaling, was increased by astaxanthin treatment. PHA-4 has been demonstrated to regulate the expression of genes playing critical roles in the autophagy-lysosome pathway (ALP). Consistently, several key genes related to ALP, including lgg-1, atg-5, vps-34, ncr-1 and asm-1 were upregulated in C. elegans treated with astaxanthin. Knockdown of pha-4 expression by siRNA prevented the elevation of the above ALP-related genes, while diminishing the lifespan-extension effect of astaxanthin. Overall, these results indicated that astaxanthin prolonged the lifespan of C. elegans via modulating the intracellular redox status and promoting PHA-4-mediated autophagy.
期刊介绍:
Food & Function provides a unique venue for physicists, chemists, biochemists, nutritionists and other food scientists to publish work at the interface of the chemistry, physics and biology of food. The journal focuses on food and the functions of food in relation to health.