Antioxidants Reveal an Inverted U-shaped Dose-response Relationship Between Reactive Oxygen Species Levels and the Rate of Aging in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Overview

Journal Aging Cell

Specialties Cell Biology
Geriatrics

Date 2016 Sep 30

PMID 27683245

Citations 43

Authors

David Desjardins

Briseida Cacho-Valadez

Ju-Ling Liu

Ying Wang

Callista Yee

Kristine Bernard

Arman Khaki

Lionel Breton

Siegfried Hekimi

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are potentially toxic, but they are also signaling molecules that modulate aging. Recent observations that ROS can promote longevity have to be reconciled with the numerous claims about the benefits of antioxidants on lifespan. Here, three antioxidants [N-acetylcysteine (NAC), vitamin C, and resveratrol (RSV)] were tested on Caenorhabditis elegans mutants that alter drug uptake, mitochondrial function, and ROS metabolism. We observed that like pro-oxidants, antioxidants can both lengthen and shorten lifespan, dependent on concentration, genotypes, and conditions. The effects of antioxidants thus reveal an inverted U-shaped dose-response relationship between ROS levels and lifespan. In addition, we observed that RSV can act additively to both NAC and paraquat, to dramatically increase lifespan. This suggests that the effect of compounds that modulate ROS levels can be additive when their loci of action or mechanisms of action are sufficiently distinct.

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