Caenorhabditis elegans in Chinese medicinal studies: making the case for aging and neurodegeneration

Abstract

Aging is a progressive process with degenerative changes of various tissues and organs. As a classic model organism in genetics and neurobiology, Caenorhabditis elegans is also a powerful system in aging and behavioral studies and can be used at both the molecular and organismal levels to evaluate potential therapeutics for age-related neurodegeneration, owing to its short life span, relative simplicity, and high degree of experimental tractability as well as significant conservation of disease genes and signaling pathways with humans. We attempt here to summarize the use of C. elegans models in exploring traditional Chinese medicine for potential remedies against aging and neurodegeneration.

FIG. 1.

Pharmacologic suppression of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MPP⁺)-induced locomotion defect in Caenorhabditis elegans by polysaccharides from Chaenomeles speciosa. Synchronized L1 wild-type nematodes were treated with MPP⁺ (200 μg/mL) and polysaccharides (150 μg/mL) for 48 hr at 20°C, and locomotion of the nematodes was analyzed from recorded movies on fresh plates. CPS1–3, fractions of C. speciosa polysaccharides from anion-exchange chromatography eluted with H₂O, 1 M NaCl and 2 M NaCl, respectively. (**) p<0.01; (***) p<0.001.