Expression of β-1,4-galactosyltransferases during Aging in Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Altered plasma activity of β-1,4-galac­tosyl­transferases (B4GALTs) is a novel candidate biomarker of human aging. B4GALT1 is assumed to be largely responsible for this activity increase, but how it modulates the aging process is unclear at present. <b><i>Objectives:</i></b> To determine how expression of B4GALT1 and other B4GALT enzymes changes during aging of an experimentally tractable model organism, <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i>. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Targeted analysis of mRNA levels of all 3 <i>C. elegans</i> B4GALT family members was performed by qPCR in wild-type and in long-lived <i>daf-2</i> (insulin/IGF1-like receptor)-deficient or germline-deficient animals. <b><i>Results:</i></b> <i>bre-4</i> (<i>B4GALT1/2/3/4</i>) is the only B4GALT whose expression increases during aging in wild-type worms. In addition, <i>bre-4</i> levels also rise during aging in long-lived <i>daf-2</i>-deficient worms, but not in animals that are long-lived due to the lack of germline stem cells. On the other hand, expression of <i>sqv-3 (B4GALT7)</i> and of <i>W02B12.11 (B4GALT5/6)</i> appears decreased or constant, respectively, in all backgrounds during aging. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The age-dependent <i>bre-4</i> mRNA increase in <i>C. elegans</i> parallels the age-dependent B4GALT activity increase in humans and is consistent with <i>C. elegans</i> being a suitable experimental organism to define potentially conserved roles of B4GALT1 during aging.