Loss of physical contact in space alters the dopamine system in C. elegans

Sudevan, Surabhi; Muto, Kasumi; Higashitani, Nahoko; Hashizume, Tōkō; Higashibata, Akira; Ellwood, Rebecca; Deane, Colleen S.; Rahman, Mizanur; Vanapalli, Siva A.; Etheridge, Timothy; Szewczyk, Nathaniel J.; Higashitani, Akihiro

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.103762

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Finally, with regard to neurotransmission, acute IR seems to alter the neurotransmitter levels in the cerebral and cerebellar cortex in rats’ brains [ 109 ], in addition to microgravity being shown to cause reduced movements and lower expression levels of endogenous dopamine and COMT-4 due to dopamine-mediated functional impairments [ 110 ]. Interestingly, the injection of exogenous dopamine reversed the movement defects, as well as increased physical contact, improved COMT-4 and dopamine levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Protective Role of Neurogenetic Components in Reducing Stress-Related Effects during Spaceflights: Evidence from the Age-Related Positive Memory Approach

Mammarella

Gatti

Ceccato

et al. 2022

Life

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fighting stress-related effects during spaceflight is crucial for a successful mission. Emotional, motivational, and cognitive mechanisms have already been shown to be involved in the decrease of negative emotions. However, emerging evidence is pointing to a neurogenetic profile that may render some individuals more prone than others to focusing on positive information in memory and increasing affective health. The relevance for adaptation to the space environment and the interaction with other stressors such as ionizing radiations is discussed. In particular, to clarify this approach better, we will draw from the psychology and aging literature data. Subsequently, we report on studies on candidate genes for sensitivity to positive memories. We review work on the following candidate genes that may be crucial in adaptation mechanisms: ADRA2B, COMT, 5HTTLPR, CB1, and TOMM40. The final aim is to show how the study of genetics and cell biology of positive memory can help us to reveal the underlying bottom-up pathways to also increasing positive effects during a space mission.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Protective Role of Neurogenetic Components in Reducing Stress-Related Effects during Spaceflights: Evidence from the Age-Related Positive Memory Approach

Mammarella

Gatti

Ceccato

et al. 2022

Life

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Significant physiological changes occur during long-duration space travel, necessitating a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that induce these alterations [ 53 , 54 ]. Thus, model organisms such as C. elegans have been flown to the International Space Station (ISS) several times for space-biology investigations [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 ]. For spaceflight missions where payload size and weight are critical considerations, C. elegans experimental payloads offer a small-form factor and a significant reduction in weight compared with vertebrates.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Compact Imaging Platform for Conducting C. elegans Phenotypic Assays on Earth and in Spaceflight

Anupom

Vanapalli

2023

Life

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The model organism Caenorhabditis elegans is used in a variety of applications ranging from fundamental biological studies, to drug screening, to disease modeling, and to space-biology investigations. These applications rely on conducting whole-organism phenotypic assays involving animal behavior and locomotion. In this study, we report a 3D printed compact imaging platform (CIP) that is integrated with a smart-device camera for the whole-organism phenotyping of C. elegans. The CIP has no external optical elements and does not require mechanical focusing, simplifying the optical configuration. The small footprint of the system powered with a standard USB provides capabilities ranging from plug-and-play, to parallel operation, and to housing it in incubators for temperature control. We demonstrate on Earth the compatibility of the CIP with different C. elegans substrates, including agar plates, liquid droplets on glass slides and microfluidic chips. We validate the system with behavioral and thrashing assays and show that the phenotypic readouts are in good agreement with the literature data. We conduct a pilot study with mutants and show that the phenotypic data collected from the CIP distinguishes these mutants. Finally, we discuss how the simplicity and versatility offered by CIP makes it amenable to future C. elegans investigations on the International Space Station, where science experiments are constrained by system size, payload weight and crew time. Overall, the compactness, portability and ease-of-use makes the CIP desirable for research and educational outreach applications on Earth and in space.

show abstract

“…Approximately 12 worms were analyzed for each condition. Images were obtained using confocal microscopy and ImageJ software was used to calculate the number of beads in all four cephalic (CEP) neurons [ 50 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitochonic Acid 5 Improves Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Parkinson’s Disease Model of Caenorhabditis elegans

Nagasawa

Muto

et al. 2022

IJMS

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mitochonic Acid 5 (MA-5) enhances mitochondrial ATP production, restores fibroblasts from mitochondrial disease patients and extends the lifespan of the disease model “Mitomouse”. Additionally, MA-5 interacts with mitofilin and modulates the mitochondrial inner membrane organizing system (MINOS) in mammalian cultured cells. Here, we used the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to investigate whether MA-5 improves the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) model. Firstly, we confirmed the efficient penetration of MA-5 in the mitochondria of C. elegans. MA-5 also alleviated symptoms such as movement decline, muscular tone, mitochondrial fragmentation and Ca2+ accumulation of the DMD model. To assess the effect of MA-5 on mitochondria perturbation, we employed a low concentration of rotenone with or without MA-5. MA-5 significantly suppressed rotenone-induced mitochondria reactive oxygen species (ROS) increase, mitochondrial network fragmentation and nuclear destruction in body wall muscles as well as endogenous ATP levels decline. In addition, MA-5 suppressed rotenone-induced degeneration of dopaminergic cephalic (CEP) neurons seen in the Parkinson’s disease (PD) model. Furthermore, the application of MA-5 reduced mitochondrial swelling due to the immt-1 null mutation. These results indicate that MA-5 has broad mitochondrial homing and MINOS stabilizing activity in metazoans and may be a therapeutic agent for these by ameliorating mitochondrial dysfunction in DMD and PD.

show abstract

Loss of physical contact in space alters the dopamine system in C. elegans

Cited by 14 publications

References 43 publications

The Protective Role of Neurogenetic Components in Reducing Stress-Related Effects during Spaceflights: Evidence from the Age-Related Positive Memory Approach

The Protective Role of Neurogenetic Components in Reducing Stress-Related Effects during Spaceflights: Evidence from the Age-Related Positive Memory Approach

A Compact Imaging Platform for Conducting C. elegans Phenotypic Assays on Earth and in Spaceflight

Mitochonic Acid 5 Improves Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Parkinson’s Disease Model of Caenorhabditis elegans

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About