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Lifespan extension of Caenorhabditis elegans following repeated mild hormetic heat treatments

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Abstract

Mild hormetic heat treatments early in life can significantly increase the lifespan of the nematode C. elegans. We have examined the effects of heat treatments at different ages and show that treatments early in life cause the largest increases in lifespan. We also find that repeated mild heat treatments throughout life have a larger effect on lifespan compared to a single mild heat treatment early in life. We hypothesize that the magnitude of the hormetic effect is related to the levels of heat shock protein expression. Following heat treatment young worms show a dramatic increase in the levels of the small heat shock protein HSP-16 whereas old worms are a 100-fold less responsive. The levels of the heat shock proteins HSP-4 and HSP-16 correlate well with the effects on lifespan by the hormetic treatments.

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Abbreviations

UPR:

unfolded protein response

ER:

endoplasmic reticulum

HSP:

heat shock protein

GFP:

green fluorescent protein

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Mette Lund and the members of the Lithgow Laboratory for helpful discussions. A. O. was supported by the Danish Cancer Society. G. J. L. is supported by NIH, the Ellison Medical Foundation, the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and the Herbert Simon Family Medical Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Buck Institute, 8001 Redwood Blvd, Novato, CA, 94945, USA

    Anders Olsen, Maithili C. Vantipalli & Gordon J. Lithgow

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  1. Anders Olsen
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  2. Maithili C. Vantipalli
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  3. Gordon J. Lithgow
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Correspondence to Anders Olsen.

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Olsen, A., Vantipalli, M.C. & Lithgow, G.J. Lifespan extension of Caenorhabditis elegans following repeated mild hormetic heat treatments. Biogerontology 7, 221–230 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-006-9018-x

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