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Functional Aging in the Nervous System Contributes to Age-Dependent Motor Activity Decline in C. elegans
Open accessAbstract
Aging is characterized by a progressive decline in multiple physiological functions (i.e., functional aging). As animals age, they exhibit a gradual loss in motor activity, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here we approach this question in C. elegans by functionally characterizing its aging nervous system and muscles. We find that motor neurons exhibit a progressive functional decline, beginning in early life. Surprisingly, body-wall muscles, which were previously thought to undergo functional aging, do not manifest such a decline until mid-late life. Notably, motor neurons first develop a deficit in synaptic vesicle fusion followed by that in quantal size and vesicle docking/priming, revealing specific functional deteriorations in synaptic transmission. Pharmacological stimulation of synaptic transmission can improve motor activity in aged animals. These results uncover a critical role for the nervous system in age-dependent motor activity decline in C. elegans and provide insights into how functional aging occurs in this organism.
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“The possible role of PCD in the C. elegans sarcopenia is not known, however a loss of normal signaling from motorneurons has been implicated (Liu et al., 2013).”
From Programmed cell death in aging (2015) · cites this paper as Liu et al., 2013
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Metadata
- Authors
- Liu, J., Zhang, B., Lei, H., Feng, Z., Liu, J., Hsu, A.-L., & Xu, X. Z. S.
- Affiliations
- University of Michigan (US)
- Case Western Reserve University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Xu, X.Z. Shawn
- Venue
- Cell Metabolism
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2013-09
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 392-402
- ISSN
- 1550-4131 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3811915
- OpenAlex
- W2056724437
- Cited by
- 154
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 3
- FWCI
- 4.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Cell Metabolism (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (31130028, 31225011)
- Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (B08029)
- Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (2012CB51800)
- National Institute on Aging
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Aging › Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
- Keywords
- functional aging, motor neurons, body wall muscle, synaptic vesicle fusion, quantal size, synaptic transmission, Caenorhabditis elegans
- MeSH terms
- Acetylcholine, Aging, Animals, gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, Motor Activity, Mutation, Nervous System, Synaptic Transmission, Neurons, Receptor, Insulin, Caenorhabditis elegans, Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
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