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Lahaise M, Boujenoui F, Beaudry F. Cannflavins isolated from Cannabis sativa impede Caenorhabditis elegans response to noxious heat. NAUNYN-SCHMIEDEBERG'S ARCHIVES OF PHARMACOLOGY 2024; 397:535-548. [PMID: 37480489 DOI: 10.1007/s00210-023-02621-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/24/2023]
Abstract
Cannflavins, flavonoids abundantly present in Cannabis sativa, possess a distinct chemical structure comprising a vanillyl group. Notably, the capsaicin structure also contains a vanillyl group, which is considered essential for interacting with the vanilloid receptor. The vanilloid receptor plays a crucial role in the perception of pain, heat, and inflammation and mediates the analgesic effects of capsaicin. Therefore, we postulated that prolonged exposure to cannflavin A (Can A) and cannflavin B (Can B) would provoke vanilloid receptor desensitization and hinder nocifensive responses to noxious thermal stimuli. C. elegans wild-type (N2) and mutants were exposed to Can A and Can B solutions for 60 min and then aliquoted on Petri dishes divided into quadrants for thermal stimulation. We then determined the thermal avoidance index for each C. elegans experimental group. Proteomics was performed to identify proteins and pathways associated with Can A or B treatment. Prolonged exposure to Can A and Can B hindered heat avoidance (32-35 °C) in C. elegans. No antinociceptive effect was observed 6 h post Can A or B exposure. Proteomics and Reactome pathway enrichment analyses identified hierarchical differences between Can A- and B-treated nematodes. However, both treatments were related to eukaryotic translation initiation (R-CEL-72613) and metabolic processes strongly associated with pain development. Our study aids in characterizing the pharmacological activity of cannflavins isolated from Cannabis sativa and outlines a possible application as pain therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Lahaise
- Département de Biomédecine Vétérinaire, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, 3200 Sicotte, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, J2S 2M2, Canada
- Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche sur le cerveau et l'apprentissage (CIRCA), Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Faculté Des Arts Et Des Sciences, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Fatma Boujenoui
- Département de Biomédecine Vétérinaire, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, 3200 Sicotte, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, J2S 2M2, Canada
- Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche sur le cerveau et l'apprentissage (CIRCA), Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Francis Beaudry
- Département de Biomédecine Vétérinaire, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, 3200 Sicotte, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, J2S 2M2, Canada.
- Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche sur le cerveau et l'apprentissage (CIRCA), Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
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Antinociceptive Activity of Vanilloids in Caenorhabditis elegans is Mediated by the Desensitization of the TRPV Channel OCR-2 and Specific Signal Transduction Pathways. Neurochem Res 2023; 48:1900-1911. [PMID: 36737562 DOI: 10.1007/s11064-023-03876-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Vanilloids, including capsaicin and eugenol, are ligands of transient receptor potential channel vanilloid subfamily member 1 (TRPV1). Prolonged treatment with vanilloids triggered the desensitization of TRPV1, leading to analgesic or antinociceptive effects. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is a model organism expressing vanilloid receptor orthologs (e.g., OSM-9 and OCR-2) that are associated with behavioral and physiological processes, including sensory transduction. We have shown that capsaicin and eugenol hamper the nocifensive response to noxious heat in C. elegans. The objective of this study was to perform proteomics to identify proteins and pathways responsible for the induced phenotype and to identify capsaicin and eugenol targets using a thermal proteome profiling (TPP) strategy. The results indicated hierarchical differences following Reactome Pathway enrichment analyses between capsaicin- and eugenol-treated nematodes. However, both treated groups were associated mainly with signal transduction pathways, energy generation, biosynthesis and structural processes. Wnt signaling, a specific signal transduction pathway, is involved following treatment with both molecules. Wnt signaling pathway is noticeably associated with pain. The TPP results show that capsaicin and eugenol target OCR-2 but not OSM-9. Further protein-protein interaction (PPI) analyses showed other targets associated with enzymatic catalysis and calcium ion binding activity. The resulting data help to better understand the broad-spectrum pharmacological activity of vanilloids.
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Gourgou E, Adiga K, Goettemoeller A, Chen C, Hsu AL. Caenorhabditis elegans learning in a structured maze is a multisensory behavior. iScience 2021; 24:102284. [PMID: 33889812 PMCID: PMC8050377 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
We show that C. elegans nematodes learn to associate food with a combination of proprioceptive cues and information on the structure of their surroundings (maze), perceived through mechanosensation. By using the custom-made Worm-Maze platform, we demonstrate that C. elegans young adults can locate food in T-shaped mazes and, following that experience, learn to reach a specific maze arm. C. elegans learning inside the maze is possible after a single training session, it resembles working memory, and it prevails over conflicting environmental cues. We provide evidence that the observed learning is a food-triggered multisensory behavior, which requires mechanosensory and proprioceptive input, and utilizes cues about the structural features of nematodes' environment and their body actions. The CREB-like transcription factor and dopamine signaling are also involved in maze performance. Lastly, we show that the observed aging-driven decline of C. elegans learning ability in the maze can be reversed by starvation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleni Gourgou
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Institute of Gerontology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 41809, USA
| | - Kavya Adiga
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 41809, USA
| | - Anne Goettemoeller
- Neuroscience Program, College of Literature, Science and the Arts, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 41809, USA
| | - Chieh Chen
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, 112 Taiwan
| | - Ao-Lin Hsu
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 41809, USA
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, 112 Taiwan
- Research Center for Healthy Aging and Institute of New Drug Development, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan
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Izquierdo EJ, Beer RD. From head to tail: a neuromechanical model of forward locomotion in Caenorhabditis elegans. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:20170374. [PMID: 30201838 PMCID: PMC6158225 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
With 302 neurons and a near-complete reconstruction of the neural and muscle anatomy at the cellular level, Caenorhabditis elegans is an ideal candidate organism to study the neuromechanical basis of behaviour. Yet despite the breadth of knowledge about the neurobiology, anatomy and physics of C. elegans, there are still a number of unanswered questions about one of its most basic and fundamental behaviours: forward locomotion. How the rhythmic pattern is generated and propagated along the body is not yet well understood. We report on the development and analysis of a model of forward locomotion that integrates the neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and body mechanics of the worm. Our model is motivated by experimental analysis of the structure of the ventral cord circuitry and the effect of local body curvature on nearby motoneurons. We developed a neuroanatomically grounded model of the head motoneuron circuit and the ventral nerve cord circuit. We integrated the neural model with an existing biomechanical model of the worm's body, with updated musculature and stretch receptors. Unknown parameters were evolved using an evolutionary algorithm to match the speed of the worm on agar. We performed 100 evolutionary runs and consistently found electrophysiological configurations that reproduced realistic control of forward movement. The ensemble of successful solutions reproduced key experimental observations that they were not designed to fit, including the wavelength and frequency of the propagating wave. Analysis of the ensemble revealed that head motoneurons SMD and RMD are sufficient to drive dorsoventral undulations in the head and neck and that short-range posteriorly directed proprioceptive feedback is sufficient to propagate the wave along the rest of the body.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Connectome to behaviour: modelling C. elegans at cellular resolution'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo J Izquierdo
- Cognitive Science Program, School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Randall D Beer
- Cognitive Science Program, School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
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Boyle JH, Berri S, Cohen N. Gait Modulation in C. elegans: An Integrated Neuromechanical Model. Front Comput Neurosci 2012; 6:10. [PMID: 22408616 PMCID: PMC3296079 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2012.00010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2011] [Accepted: 02/07/2012] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Equipped with its 302-cell nervous system, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans adapts its locomotion in different environments, exhibiting so-called swimming in liquids and crawling on dense gels. Recent experiments have demonstrated that the worm displays the full range of intermediate behaviors when placed in intermediate environments. The continuous nature of this transition strongly suggests that these behaviors all stem from modulation of a single underlying mechanism. We present a model of C. elegans forward locomotion that includes a neuromuscular control system that relies on a sensory feedback mechanism to generate undulations and is integrated with a physical model of the body and environment. We find that the model reproduces the entire swim-crawl transition, as well as locomotion in complex and heterogeneous environments. This is achieved with no modulatory mechanism, except via the proprioceptive response to the physical environment. Manipulations of the model are used to dissect the proposed pattern generation mechanism and its modulation. The model suggests a possible role for GABAergic D-class neurons in forward locomotion and makes a number of experimental predictions, in particular with respect to non-linearities in the model and to symmetry breaking between the neuromuscular systems on the ventral and dorsal sides of the body.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Netta Cohen
- School of Computing, University of LeedsLeeds, UK
- Institute of Membrane and Systems Biology, University of LeedsLeeds, UK
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Bounoutas A, Chalfie M. Touch sensitivity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Pflugers Arch 2007; 454:691-702. [PMID: 17285303 DOI: 10.1007/s00424-006-0187-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2006] [Accepted: 10/31/2006] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans was the first organism for which touch insensitive mutants were obtained. The study of the genes defective in these mutants has led to the identification of components of a mechanosensory complex needed for specific cells to sense gentle touch to the body. Multiple approaches using genetics, cell biology, biochemistry, and electrophysiology have characterized a channel complex, containing two DEG/ENaC pore-forming subunits and several other proteins, that transduces the touch response. Other mechanical responses, sensed by other cells using a variety of other components, are less well understood in C. elegans. Many of these other senses may use TRP channels, although DEG/ENaC channels have also been implicated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Bounoutas
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, 1012 Fairchild, MC#2446, 1012 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027, USA.
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