Effects to stearic acid diet on the development, fertility and body fat distribution in Caenorhabditis elegans model

MORAN, YANINA SOLEDAD; ASIS, RAMÓN

Congreso; Congreso conjunto SAIB- SAMIGE 2021; 2021

Excessive intake of saturated fats and refined carbohydrates causes overnutrition, leading to a variety of diseases such as obesity and other metabolic disorders. The diet supplementation with natural bioactive compounds with ability to reduce fat accumulation is a strategy proposed to help fight these diseases. C. elegans has been demonstrated to constitute a powerful model for exploring the genetic basis of fatty acid synthesis and the regulation of fat storage. In this study we proposed C. elegans as a tool to study the metabolic disorders of excessive intake of saturated fats and the effects of natural bioactive compounds. For this, we examined: a) the effect of stearic acid diet (SA) on growth, development, fertility and body fat of worms, b) the effect of chlorogenic acid (CGA) on worms exposed to SA diet. The worms were exposed to low, moderate and high SA levels during the development cycle (egg to adult), in the growth stage (adult), and multigenerational stages (mother to adult progeny). In all cases, egg laid, body area, body fat storage (red oil tincion) and body fat content (Nile red tincion) were measured. The results showed no effects of SA on worms exposed in the adult stage for 72 hs. However, moderate and high SA showed a significant reduction in body area, egg laid, fat content and body fat storage in worms of development and multigenerational assays. All these effects were normalized with the CGA added in the multigenerational assay. The results evidence that SA diet produced a lipid reallocation between somatic and germ cells that impacts in the development and reproduction. In addition, CGA showed a protective effect on high-lipid damage to nematodes.