Greater loss of mitochondrial function with ageing is associated with earlier onset of sarcopenia in C. elegans

Gaffney, Christopher J.; Pollard, Amelia; Barratt, Thomas F.; Constantin-Teodosiu, Dumitru; Greenhaff, Paul L.; Szewczyk, Nathaniel J.

Abstract

Sarcopenia, the age-related decline of muscle, is a significant and growing public health burden. C. elegans, a model organism for investigating the mechanisms of ageing, also displays sarcopenia, but the underlying mechanism(s) remain elusive. Here, we use C. elegans natural scaling of lifespan in response to temperature to examine the relationship between mitochondrial content, mitochondrial function, and sarcopenia. Mitochondrial content and maximal mitochondrial ATP production rates (MAPR) display an inverse relationship to lifespan, while onset of MAPR decline displays a direct relationship. Muscle mitochondrial structure, sarcomere structure, and movement decline also display a direct relationship with longevity. Notably, the decline in mitochondrial network structure occurs earlier than sarcomere decline, and correlates more strongly with loss of movement, and scales with lifespan. These results suggest that mitochondrial function is critical in the ageing process and more robustly explains the onset and progression of sarcopenia than loss of sarcomere structure.

Citation

Gaffney, C. J., Pollard, A., Barratt, T. F., Constantin-Teodosiu, D., Greenhaff, P. L., & Szewczyk, N. J. (2018). Greater loss of mitochondrial function with ageing is associated with earlier onset of sarcopenia in C. elegans. Aging, 10(11), 3382-3396. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.101654

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 15, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Nov 19, 2018
• Publication Date: Nov 19, 2018
• Deposit Date: Nov 29, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 29, 2018
• Journal: Aging
• Electronic ISSN: 1945-4589
• Publisher: Impact Journals
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 11
• Pages: 3382-3396
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.101654
• Keywords: Sarcopenia; Ageing; Muscle, C. elegans; Mitochondria; ATP production; Sarcomere
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1338041
• Publisher URL: https://www.aging-us.com/article/101654/text