Age-associated and tissue-specific decline in autophagic activity in the nematode C. elegans

ABSTRACT

Macroautophagy/autophagy is a cellular recycling process that is required for the extended life span observed in many longevity paradigms, including in the nematode C. elegans. However, little is known regarding the spatiotemporal changes in autophagic activity in such long-lived mutants as well as in wild-type animals during normal aging. In a recent study, we report that autophagic activity decreases with age in several major tissues of wild-type C. elegans, including the intestine, body-wall muscle, pharynx, and nerve-ring neurons. Moreover, long-lived daf-2/insulin-signaling mutants and glp-1/Notch receptor mutants display increased autophagic activity, yet with different time- and tissue-specific differences. Notably, the intestine appears to be a critical tissue in which autophagy contributes to longevity in glp-1, but not in daf-2 mutants. Our findings indicate that autophagic degradation is reduced with age, possibly with distinct kinetics in different tissues, and that long-lived mutants increase autophagy in a tissue-specific manner, resulting in increased life span.

KEYWORDS:

• aging
• Atg8/LC3/LGG-1
• autophagy
• C. elegans
• daf-2
• glp-1
• tissue-specificity

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Additional information

Funding

Glenn Foundation for Medical Research MH was supported by NIH/NIA [grant number R01 AG038664], [grant number R01 AG039756], and by a Julie Martin Mid-Career Award in Aging Research supposed by the Ellison Medical Foundation and AFAR.