Wednesday, January 05, 2022

Mitochondrial Stress Is Passed Between Generations

Amazing stuff!

From the abstract:
"... Here, we discovered that the neuronal mitochondrial perturbation-induced systemic mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) in Caenorhabditis elegans can be transmitted to offspring over multiple generations. The transgenerational activation of UPRmt is mediated by maternal inheritance of elevated levels of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which causes the proteostasis stress within mitochondria. Furthermore, results from intercrossing studies using wild C. elegans strains further support that maternal inheritance of higher levels of mtDNA can induce the UPRmt in descendants. The mitokine Wnt signalling pathway is required for the transmission of elevated mtDNA levels across generations, thereby conferring lifespan extension and stress resistance to offspring. Collectively, our results reveal that the nervous system can transmit stress signals across generations by increasing mtDNA in the germline, enabling descendants to better cope with anticipated challenges."

Mitochondrial Stress Is Passed Between Generations | The Scientist Magazine®




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