Analysis of age-related metabolic changes in mitochondria of Caenorhabditis elegans

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K14899
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Applied biochemistry
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: TANOKURA Masaru 東京大学, 大学院農学生命科学研究科(農学部), 教授 (60136786)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: ミトコンドリア / 代謝動態 / 線虫 / 老化 / 寿命

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Mitochondrion is an organelle for energy production by the TCA cycle and electron transfer system, and is also involved in the regulation of lifespan and organ aging such as age-related hearing loss and sarcopenia. In this study, we analyzed age-related changes in mitochondrial metabolites and the effect of metabolites that prolong the lifespan of C. elegans (nematode), which is a typical model organism of lifespan studies. Isolation of mitochondria from nematodes was established by the combination of multi-beads shocker and centrifugation. On the other hand, age-related changes of metabolites were examined by supercritical fluid extraction LC-MS/MS analysis. Finally, we focused on purine nucleotide metabolism based on previously reported data, and then obtained the results that purine nucleotides prolonged the life span of nematodes.

Free Research Field

食品生物構造学