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Oxidative Stress and C. elegans Models

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Aging Mechanisms

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Abstract

Oxidative stress is thought to be an important contributor to cellular and organismal aging. While there are many reports that support this notion, some recent evidence using transgenic animals indicates that oxidative defense systems, including antioxidant enzymes, may not affect life extension. This leads to speculation that oxidative stress does not play a major role in aging. However, it is difficult to ascertain the role of oxidative stress on aging under complex mechanisms of ROS production and the defense systems in normal cells that maintain a favorable redox balance. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has gained widespread favor for the study of many biological processes, including aging. Several lines of C. elegans research relating to oxidative stress and aging are discussed in this review, including the use of transgenic organisms with altered superoxide dismutase levels as well as studies that focus on mitochondrial mutations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Life Science, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara, Kanagawa, 259-1193, Japan

    Naoaki Ishii & Takamasa Ishii

  2. Department of Biology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, 76129, USA

    Philip S. Hartman

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  1. Naoaki Ishii
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  2. Takamasa Ishii
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  3. Philip S. Hartman
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Correspondence to Naoaki Ishii .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan

    Nozomu Mori

  2. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea (Republic of)

    Inhee Mook-Jung

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Ishii, N., Ishii, T., Hartman, P.S. (2015). Oxidative Stress and C. elegans Models. In: Mori, N., Mook-Jung, I. (eds) Aging Mechanisms. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55763-0_7

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