The C. elegans model in toxicity testing

Abstract

Caenorhabditis elegans is a small nematode that can be maintained at low cost and handled using standard in vitro techniques. Unlike toxicity testing using cell cultures, C. elegans toxicity assays provide data from a whole animal with intact and metabolically active digestive, reproductive, endocrine, sensory and neuromuscular systems. Toxicity ranking screens in C. elegans have repeatedly been shown to be as predictive of rat LD50 ranking as mouse LD50 ranking. Additionally, many instances of conservation of mode of toxic action have been noted between C. elegans and mammals. These consistent correlations make the case for inclusion of C. elegans assays in early safety testing and as one component in tiered or integrated toxicity testing strategies, but do not indicate that nematodes alone can replace data from mammals for hazard evaluation. As with cell cultures, good C. elegans culture practice (GCeCP) is essential for reliable results. This article reviews C. elegans use in various toxicity assays, the C. elegans model's strengths and limitations for use in predictive toxicology, and GCeCP. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Journal of Applied Toxicology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Impact of Silicon Carbide Nanoparticles on Hatching and Survival of Soil Nematodes Caenorhabditis Elegans and Meloidogyne Incognita

“…The nematode C. elegans was used to test the toxicity of SiC nanoparticles since basic physiological processes and stress responses are conserved between this nematode and humans (Lee et al, 2007;Hunt, 2017). We used the L1 of C. elegans since several reports showed that L1 is more sensitive than both L4 and young adult of C. elegans to nanoparticles such as Al nanoparticles and others (Wu et al, 2011).…”

“…Some are restricted to a specific geographical environmental condition while others are ubiquitous (Hodda, 2011). The bacterial feeding nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a well-known multicellular model organism and is used extensively in toxicity assessment studies (Ma et al, 2009;Hunt, 2017). Meloidogyne incognita, a plant parasitic nematode belonging to the root knot nematodes family (RKN), was also challenged with several nanoparticles, such as silver, titanium, and silicon nanoparticles (Ardakani, 2013;Cromwell et al, 2014).…”

Toxicity of nanomaterials found in human environment

“…37,38 Nanomaterials obtained from different sources produced different results in mouse lung exposed by inhalation. 27 Recently, zebra fish (Danio rerio) 39 and Caenorhabditis elegans 40,41 have been used as in vivo models for nanoparticle toxicity testing. Meyer et al 42 showed the uptake and growth inhibition of three silver nanoparticles with different sizes and polyvinylpyrrolidone or citrate coatings using C. elegans.…”

Sucrose density gradient centrifugation for efficient separation of engineered nanoparticles from a model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans

“…Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), a globally distributed, soil-inhabiting nematode species, [2] has been widely utilized as a model organism in research studies due to factors such as its low cost, ease of cultivation and maintenance, short generation time, the large number of eggs per adult, the availability of numerous genetically modified versions of the species, 60 % to 80 % gene homology to humans, and its optical transparency. [3,4] Additionally, they feed by taking in surrounding media and suspended particles via a pharyngeal pumping mechanism, [5] making them especially ideal organisms for nano-uptake and nanotoxicity studies.…”