l-Arginine Enhances Resistance against Oxidative Stress and Heat Stress in Caenorhabditis elegans

• Main Authors: Heran Ma, Yudan Ma, Zhixian Zhang, Ziyuan Zhao, Ran Lin, Jinming Zhu, Yi Guo, Li Xu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-09-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: C. elegans; ">l-Arg; antiaging; antioxidant; free radical
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/13/10/969

The antioxidant properties of l-arginine (l-Arg) in vivo, and its effect on enhancing resistance to oxidative stress and heat stress in Caenorhabditis elegans were investigated. C. elegans, a worm model popularly used in molecular and developmental biology, was used in the present study. Here, we report that l-Arg, at a concentration of 1 mM, prolonged C. elegans life by 26.98% and 37.02% under oxidative and heat stress, respectively. Further experiments indicated that the longevity-extending effects of l-Arg may be exerted by its free radical scavenging capacity and the upregulation of aging-associated gene expression in worms. This work is important in the context of numerous recent studies that concluded that environment stresses are associated with an increased population death rate.