The Effects Of Ethanol On The Longevity Of Caenorhabditis Elegans And The Underlying Mechanisms

Epidemiological studies have found that the effect of alcohol consumption on longevity depends on the amount of alcohol consumed.At present,the dose effects of alcohol consumption on longevity and the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood.In this study,N2 wild-type nematode was used to study the effects of different concentrations of ethanol on the life span,stress resistance and physiological status of nematode and the possible mechanisms.It was found that low concentrations of ethanol(0.5-1.5%)prolonged the lifespan of nematodes(life expectancy increased by about 20percent),while high concentrations of ethanol(>1.5%)was toxic to nematodes,resulting in shortened lifespan of nematodes.The experimental results showed that ethanol could increase the survival rate of the nematodes under stress and improve the ability of nematodes to resist environmental heat stress and oxidative stress.0.5% and 1%ethanol did not affect the motor ability but reduced the reproductive ability of nematodes.Besides,1% ethanol reduced the body size of nematodes.Therefore,0.5%and 1% ethanol prolonged the lifespan but affecting the physiological state of nematodes.The results also showed that 0.5% and 1% ethanol moderately increased reactive oxygen species levels in nematodes(about 30%),but reduced excessive reactive oxygen species levels in nematodes caused by oxidative damage.Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR results showed that 0.5% ethanol increased the expression of ctl-2,sod-1,sod-3,skn-1,daf-16 and pha-4 genes(about 50%)and decreased the expression of age-1 gene(about 30%).1% ethanol increased the expression of ctl-1,ctl-2,ctl-3,sod-1,sod-2,sod-3,skn-1 and daf-16 genes(about 90%)and decreased the expression of age-1 gene(about 30%).In summary,0.5% and 1% ethanol could extend the lifespan of nematodes by moderately increasing the reactive oxygen species level in nematodes,increasing the stress tolerance of nematodes,reducing the excessive increase of reactive oxygen species level in nematodes caused by external stress,and regulating the expression of longevity genes.