Characterization of the tissue-specific alterations in protein expression with aging and caloric restriction in C. elegans

Abstract

There is a worldwide trend towards aging of the world's population, what gives rise to social, economic and public health issues. Caloric restriction (CR) is an intervention that slows down the aging process in different species resulting in a reduction in the risk of age-related diseases. Aging and CR affect the cells of the organism in an indiscriminate manner. However, some cells seem to age faster or differently while others apparently act in a determinant manner to coordinate organismal aging, a process that requires communication between tissues. Studying the casual relationships between tissue-specific alterations and aging is challenging in mammals and almost impossible in humans, what slows advances in this area of knowledge. Caenorhabditis elegans is a model that allows this kind of studies as it provides easy genetic manipulation, exhibits a short lifespan and age in a pattern that is similar to humans. With that in mind, we intend to isolate the main somatic tissues of C. elegans subjected to ad libitum diet or CR, at different ages, and perform a quantitative proteomic analysis with these samples. We will identify proteins that exhibit tissue-specific alterations with age and/or CR and select the ones that are conserved in humans and can be secreted. We will then test their impact on the aging phenotypes of C. elegans. These experiments will allow the identification of new mechanisms of communication between tissues in the context of aging. These discoveries have the potential to inspire new drug targets. (AU)