3-Methyl-3-buten-1-ol (isoprenol) confers longevity and stress tolerance in Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

The present investigation demonstrates the longevity-promoting effects of 3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol (isoprenol) in the animal model Caenorhabditis elegans that might be served as a lead nutraceutical in geriatric research. Our results showed that 0.5 mM isoprenol extended the mean lifespan of worms by 25% in comparison to control worms. Isoprenol also significantly enhanced survival of the worms under various stress conditions. It was found that the longevity-promoting effects of isoprenol were associated with improved age-associated physiological behaviour and reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. Finally, studies with gene-specific mutants revealed the involvement of pro-longevity transcription factors (TFs) DAF-16 and SKN-1 with simultaneous over-expression of GST-4 and SOD-3 in isoprenol treated worms. In silico analysis revealed the binding affinity of isoprenol with DAF-16 and SKN-1 TFs. Together, the findings suggest that isoprenol is able to enhance the lifespan of C. elegans and embarks its potential in the developments of formulations for age-related ailments.

Keywords:

• Isoprenol
• anti-aging
• C. elegans
• reactive oxygen species
• lifespan

Acknowledgements

The authors heartily acknowledge Director, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow and Director, National Institute of Technology, Raipur for their kind support. One of the authors (VS) is grateful to Dr. D.S. Kothari post-doctoral fellowship from University Grant Commission, New Delhi (BL/14-15/0241). The authors are also grateful to the Caenorhabditis elegans Genetics Center (Minneapolis, MN, USA) for providing nematode strains.

Disclosure statement

The authors mutually declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

SP is financially supported by ICMR, India (45/11/2018-PHA/BMS/OL) through Senior Research Fellowship grant.