A new study by a team of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that the brain plays a key role in determining the lifespan of the tiny worm C. elegans.

The study, published in the journal Current Biology, found that worms with a mutation that affects the function of a specific brain cell live about 50% longer than normal worms. This suggests that this brain cell plays a role in regulating the aging process.

"This is the first study to show that a single brain cell can have such a dramatic effect on lifespan," said study senior author Andrew Dillin, a professor of molecular and cell biology at Berkeley. "This finding opens up new avenues for understanding how the brain controls aging."

C. elegans is a tiny, transparent worm that is often used in studies of aging. The worm has a relatively short lifespan of about two weeks, which makes it a convenient organism for studying the aging process.

For the study, the researchers used a technique called RNA interference to knock down the expression of a specific gene in the brain cells of C. elegans. This gene, called eat-2, is known to be involved in the regulation of lifespan.

The researchers found that worms with the eat-2 gene knocked down lived about 50% longer than normal worms. This suggests that the eat-2 gene plays a role in regulating the aging process.

Further experiments showed that the eat-2 gene is expressed in a specific type of brain cell called the ADF neuron. The ADF neuron is known to be involved in a variety of processes, including locomotion, feeding, and reproduction.

The researchers believe that the eat-2 gene in the ADF neuron plays a role in regulating the aging process by controlling the production of a hormone called DAF-2. DAF-2 is known to be a key regulator of lifespan in C. elegans.

"Our findings suggest that the brain plays a central role in regulating the aging process," said Dillin. "We believe that the eat-2 gene in the ADF neuron is a key part of this process."

The researchers hope that their findings will lead to new insights into the aging process and new ways to extend human lifespan.

Source:

- University of California, Berkeley. (2022, February 28). Researcher tests the lifespan of C. elegans to understand how brain dictates age. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 28, 2022 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220228131236.htm