Beyond ROS clearance: Peroxiredoxins in stress signaling and aging.

Antioxidants were long predicted to have lifespan-promoting effects, but in general this prediction has not been well supported. While some antioxidants do seem to have a clear effect on longevity, this may not be primarily as a result of their role in the removal of reactive oxygen species, but rather mediated by other mechanisms such as the modulation of intracellular signaling. In this review we discuss peroxiredoxins, a class of proteinaceous antioxidants with redox signaling and chaperone functions, and their involvement in regulating longevity and stress resistance. Peroxiredoxins have a clear role in the regulation of lifespan and survival of many model organisms, including the mouse, Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster. Recent research on peroxiredoxins - in these models and beyond - has revealed surprising new insights regarding the interplay between peroxiredoxins and longevity signaling, which will be discussed here in detail. As redox signaling is emerging as a potentially important player in the regulation of longevity and aging, increased knowledge of these fascinating antioxidants and their mode(s) of action is paramount.

Identification of Endogenous Neuropeptides in the Nematode C. elegans Using Mass Spectrometry.

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans lends itself as an excellent model organism for peptidomics studies. Its ease of cultivation and quick generation time make it suitable for high-throughput studies. Adult hermaphrodites contain 959 somatic nuclei that are ordered in defined, differentiated tissues. The nervous system, with its 302 neurons, is probably the most known and studied endocrine tissue. Moreover, its neuropeptidergic signaling pathways display a large number of similarities with those observed in other metazoans. However, various other tissues have also been shown to express several neuropeptides. This includes the hypodermis, gonad, gut, and even muscle. Hence, whole mount peptidomics of C. elegans cultures provides an integral overview of peptidergic signaling between the different tissues of the entire organism. Here, we describe a peptidomics approach used for the identification of endogenous (neuro)peptides in C. elegans. Starting from a detailed peptide extraction procedure, we will outline the setup for an online liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis and describe subsequent data analysis approaches.