Open AccessMovement decline across lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans mutants in the insulin/insulin‐like signaling pathway
Author(s) -
Newell Stamper Breanne L.,
Cypser James R.,
Kechris Katerina,
Kitzenberg David Alan,
Tedesco Patricia M.,
Johnson Thomas E.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
aging cell
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1474-9726
pISSN - 1474-9718
DOI - 10.1111/acel.12704
Subject(s) - caenorhabditis elegans , biology , longevity , mutant , period (music) , insulin , phenotype , insulin receptor , movement (music) , genetics , evolutionary biology , neuroscience , endocrinology , gene , insulin resistance , philosophy , physics , aesthetics , acoustics
Summary Research in aging biology has identified several pathways that are molecularly conserved across species that extend lifespan when mutated. The insulin/insulin‐like signaling ( IIS ) pathway is one of the most widely studied of these. It has been assumed that extending lifespan also extends healthspan (the period of life with minimal functional loss). However, data supporting this assumption conflict and recent evidence suggest that life extension may, in and of itself, extend the frail period. In this study, we use Caenorhabditis elegans to further probe the link between lifespan and healthspan. Using movement decline as a measure of health, we assessed healthspan across the entire lifespan in nine IIS pathway mutants. In one series of experiments, we studied healthspan in mass cultures, and in another series, we studied individuals longitudinally. We found that long‐lived mutants display prolonged mid‐life movement and do not prolong the frailty period. Lastly, we observed that early‐adulthood movement was not predictive of late‐life movement or survival, within identical phenotypes. Overall, these observations show that extending lifespan does not prolong the period of frailty. Both genotype and a stochastic component modulate aging, and movement late in life is more variable than early‐life movement.