Changes in the expression of four heat shock proteins during the aging process in Brachionus calyciflorus (rotifera)

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are molecular chaperones and have an important role in the refolding and degradation of misfolded proteins, and these functions are related to aging. Rotifer is a useful model organism in aging research, owing to small body size (0.1-1 mm), short lifespan (6-14 days), and senescence phenotypes that can be measured relatively easily. Therefore, we used rotifer as a model to determine the role of four typical hsp genes on the aging process in order to provide a better understanding of rotifer aging. We cloned cDNA encoding hsp genes (hsp40, hsp60, hsp70, and hsp90) from the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus Pallas, analyzed their molecular characteristics, determined its modulatory response under different temperatures and H2O2 concentrations and investigated the changes in expression of these genes during the aging process. We found that Bchsp70 mRNA expression significantly decreased with aging. In addition, we also studied the effects of dietary restriction (DR) and vitamin E on rotifer lifespan and reproduction and analyzed the changes in expression of these four Bchsp genes in rotifers treated with DR and vitamin E. The results showed that DR extended the lifespan of rotifers and reduced their fecundity, whereas vitamin E had no significant effect on rotifer lifespan or reproduction. Real-time PCR indicated that DR increased the expression of these four Bchsps. However, vitamin E only improved the expression of Bchsp60, and reduced the expression of Bchsp40, Bchsp70, and Bchsp90. DR pretreatment also increased rotifer survival rate under paraquat-induced oxidative stress. These results indicated that hsp genes had an important role in the anti-aging process.