Rewarding touch limits lifespan through neural to intestinal signaling

In multicellular organisms, sensory perception affects many aspects of behavior and physiology. Perception of environmental stressors like food scarcity often leads to physiological changes that promote survival and slow aging. However, recent work shows that perception of attractive food smells can block the health benefits of dietary restriction in multiple model organisms. While it is known that sensory perception and cell nonautonomous signaling can modulate health and longevity, our knowledge of the specific sensory cues and mechanistic pathways that define this signaling is still limited. Here we find that the sense of touch interacts with nutritional state to modulate lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans. Worms subjected to dietary restriction are shorter-lived when they perceive tactile stimuli that mimic bacterial food and/or protective soil. Touch modulation of dietary restriction requires putative mechanoreceptor proteins, the neurotransmitters dopamine and tyramine/adrenaline, and the neuropeptides INS-11 and GnRH. Ultimately, the touch circuit regulates the longevity effectors DAF-2/IGF1R and FMO-2/FMO5. These results establish a physiological touch circuit and connect neural reward pathways to the growth and reproductive axes. Finding that texture mechanosensation can modulate longevity suggests a role for touch in lifespan.