Effects of a High-Glucose Diet on Caenorhabditis elegans Key Biological Functions and Survival to Bacterial...

The widespread consumption of high-glucose diets and the rise of antimicrobial resistance underscore the importance of understanding how such diets influence host organisms and their immune responses to bacterial pathogens. In this study, we examine the effects of a high-glucose diet on key biological functions of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, as well as its response to infections withStaphylococcus aureus andPseudomonas aeruginosaafter being fed the same diet. To date, it is the first study to provide evidence of an association between a high-glucose diet andP. aeruginosainfection. Worms were fed a 2% glucose diet from the L1 to L4 developmental stages. Results showed that worms on the high-glucose diet exhibited increased defecation rate, elongated body length, reduced progeny production, greater lipid droplet accumulation, elevated gst-4 expression, and changes in ROS and senescence pigment production compared to controls. Additionally, the proportion of worms with dopaminergic neuron damage was higher in the high-glucose group. DAF-16 cellular localization remained unaffected. Interestingly, worms previously exposed to a high-glucose diet demonstrated increased median survival upon infection withS. aureus andP. aeruginosarelative to controls. Furthermore, the high-glucose diet conferred protection of the intestinal barrier againstP. aeruginosa infection and enhanced the survival of the immune-deficientC. elegans RB1573 strain infected withP. aeruginosa. These findings highlight the impact of a high-glucose diet on essential biological functions inC. elegans and reveal a protective effect against bacterial infections.