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Updated: Jul 27, 2025
Using an Adapted Microfluidic Olfactory Chip for the Imaging of Neuronal Activity in Response to Pheromones in Male C. Elegans Head Neurons
Published on: September 7, 2017
Early pheromone perception remodels neurodevelopment and accelerates neurodegeneration in adult C. elegans
Jing-Yi Peng1, Xuqing Liu2, Xian-Ting Zeng2
1School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China; Institute of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Abstract:
Age-associated neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases are mainly caused by protein aggregation. The etiologies of these neurodegenerative diseases share a chemical environment. However, how chemical cues modulate neurodegeneration remains unclear. Here, we found that in Caenorhabditis elegans, exposure to pheromones in the L1 stage accelerates neurodegeneration in adults. Perception of pheromones ascr#3 and ascr#10 is mediated by chemosensory neurons ASK and ASI. ascr#3 perceived by G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) DAF-38 in ASK activates glutamatergic transmission into AIA interneurons. ascr#10 perceived by GPCR STR-2 in ASI activates the secretion of neuropeptide NLP-1, which binds to the NPR-11 receptor in AIA. Activation of both ASI and ASK is required and sufficient to remodel neurodevelopment via AIA, which triggers insulin-like signaling and inhibits autophagy in adult neurons non-cell-autonomously. Our work reveals how pheromone perception at the early developmental stage modulates neurodegeneration in adults and provides insights into how the external environment impacts neurodegenerative diseases.
