The Caenorhabditis elegans neuroendocrine system and their modulators: an overview
Abstract
In this review we seek to systematically bring what has been published in the literature about the nervous system, endocrine system, neuroendocrine relationships, neuroendocrine modulations and endocrine disruptors in the alternative model Caenorhabditis elegans. The serotonergic, dopaminergic, GABAergic and glutamatergic neurotransmitters are related to the modulation of the neuroendocrine axis, leading to the activation or inhibition of several processes that occur in the worm through distinct and interconnected pathways. Furthermore, this review addresses the gut-neuronal axis as it has been revealed in recent years that gut microbiota impacts on neuronal functions. This review also approaches xenobiotics that can positively or negatively impact the neuroendocrine system in C. elegans as in mammals, which allows the application of this nematode to screen new drugs and to identify toxicants that are endocrine disruptors.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Activation of NMDA receptors triggers postsynaptic Ca2+ influx, and the magnitude and duration of this signal determine the direction of plasticity.
“Activation of these receptors triggers postsynaptic Ca2+ influx, and the magnitude and duration of this signal determine the direction of plasticity (Jin and Karlstedt, 2025; Rodrigues et al., 2024).”
From Environmental endocrine disruptors at the synapse: mechanisms linking chemical exposure to cognitive and behavioral dysfunction (2026) · cites this paper as Rodrigues et al., 2024
Structural plasticity is tightly coupled to functional changes: LTP is generally associated with spine enlargement or increased spine density, whereas LTD is linked to spine shrinkage and synaptic weakening.
“Structural plasticity is tightly coupled to these functional changes, as LTP is generally associated with spine enlargement or increased spine density, whereas LTD is linked to spine shrinkage and synaptic weakening (Jin and Karlstedt, 2025; Rodrigues et al., 2024).”
From Environmental endocrine disruptors at the synapse: mechanisms linking chemical exposure to cognitive and behavioral dysfunction (2026) · cites this paper as Rodrigues et al., 2024
In vivo, moderate BPA exposure reduced spine density and prevented estradiol-induced synaptogenesis in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.
“In vivo, however, moderate BPA exposure reduced spine density and prevented estradiol-induced synaptogenesis in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, indicating that xenoestrogenic effects on synaptic structure are dose-, context-, and region-dependent (Ogiue-Ikeda et al., 2008; Rodrigues et al., 2024; Weiss, 2007).”
From Environmental endocrine disruptors at the synapse: mechanisms linking chemical exposure to cognitive and behavioral dysfunction (2026) · cites this paper as Rodrigues et al., 2024
Xenoestrogenic effects on synaptic structure are dose-, context-, and region-dependent.
“In vivo, however, moderate BPA exposure reduced spine density and prevented estradiol-induced synaptogenesis in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, indicating that xenoestrogenic effects on synaptic structure are dose-, context-, and region-dependent (Ogiue-Ikeda et al., 2008; Rodrigues et al., 2024; Weiss, 2007).”
From Environmental endocrine disruptors at the synapse: mechanisms linking chemical exposure to cognitive and behavioral dysfunction (2026) · cites this paper as Rodrigues et al., 2024
Cites
The structure of the nervous system of the nematode <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i>
White, J. G., Southgate, E., Thomson, J. N., & Brenner, S. (1986) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.1986.0056 · Cited by 5,589 · see citing works
Quinolinic acid and glutamatergic neurodegeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans
da Silveira, T. L., Zamberlan, D. C., Arantes, L. P., Machado, M. L., da Silva, T. C., Câmara, D. D. F., Santamaría, A., Aschner, M., & Soares, F. A. A. (2018) · NeuroToxicology · doi:10.1016/j.neuro.2018.04.015 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Jocsak, G., Kiss, D. S., Alymbaeva, D., Diebald, A., Zsarnovszky, A., Heinzlmann, A., & Bartha, T. (2026) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1821381 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Activation of these receptors triggers postsynaptic Ca 2+ influx, and the magnitude and duration of this signal determine the direction of plasticity (Jin and Karlstedt, 2025; Rodrigues et al., 2024).”
- Authors
- Rodrigues, D. T., Padilha, H. A., Soares, A. T. G., de Souza, M. E. O., Guerra, M. T., & Ávila, D. S.
- Affiliations
- Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Pampa (BR)
- Corresponding author
- Ávila, Daiana Silva
- Venue
- Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2024-05
- Volume
- 586
- Pages
- 112191
- ISSN
- 0303-7207 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4391940934
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 2
- FWCI
- 1.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (88887.513127/2020-00, 09-88887.505377/2020)
- Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
- CNPq (317462/2021-0)
- FAPERGS (21/2551-0001963-8)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Aging › Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
- Keywords
- Caenorhabditis elegans, neuroendocrine system, neuroendocrine regulation, endocrine disruptors, neurotransmitters, serotonergic signaling, dopaminergic signaling, GABAergic neurotransmission, glutamatergic signaling, gut-brain axis, gut microbiota, xenobiotics, toxicant screening, drug screening
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Mammals, Nervous System, Neurons, Neurosecretory Systems, Caenorhabditis elegans, Endocrine Disruptors
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
