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Mechanical properties measured by atomic force microscopy define health biomarkers in ageing C. elegans.

Clara L Essmann | Daniel Martinez-Martinez | Rosina Pryor | Kit-Yi Leung | Kalaivani Bala Krishnan | Prudence Pokway Lui | Nicholas D E Greene | André E X Brown | Vijay M Pawar | Mandayam A Srinivasan | Filipe Cabreiro
Nature communications | 2020

Genetic and environmental factors are key drivers regulating organismal lifespan but how these impact healthspan is less well understood. Techniques capturing biomechanical properties of tissues on a nano-scale level are providing new insights into disease mechanisms. Here, we apply Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to quantitatively measure the change in biomechanical properties associated with ageing Caenorhabditis elegans in addition to capturing high-resolution topographical images of cuticle senescence. We show that distinct dietary restriction regimes and genetic pathways that increase lifespan lead to radically different healthspan outcomes. Hence, our data support the view that prolonged lifespan does not always coincide with extended healthspan. Importantly, we identify the insulin signalling pathway in C. elegans and interventions altering bacterial physiology as increasing both lifespan and healthspan. Overall, AFM provides a highly sensitive technique to measure organismal biomechanical fitness and delivers an approach to screen for health-improving conditions, an essential step towards healthy ageing.

Pubmed ID: 32098962

Research resources used in this publication

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Antibodies used in this publication

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Associated grants

  • Agency: NIH HHS, United States
    Id: P40 OD010440
  • Agency: Medical Research Council, United Kingdom
    Id: MC_UP_1102/6
  • Agency: RCUK | Medical Research Council (MRC), International
    Id: MC-A654-5QC80
  • Agency: Medical Research Council, United Kingdom
    Id: MC_UP_1605/6
  • Agency: Wellcome Trust, United Kingdom

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