RRC ID 80755
Author Wang W, Sherry T, Cheng X, Fan Q, Cornell R, Liu J, Xiao Z, Pocock R.
Title An intestinal sphingolipid confers intergenerational neuroprotection.
Journal Nat Cell Biol
Abstract In animals, maternal diet and environment can influence the health of offspring. Whether and how maternal dietary choice impacts the nervous system across multiple generations is not well understood. Here we show that feeding Caenorhabditis elegans with ursolic acid, a natural plant product, improves axon transport and reduces adult-onset axon fragility intergenerationally. Ursolic acid provides neuroprotection by enhancing maternal provisioning of sphingosine-1-phosphate, a bioactive sphingolipid. Intestine-to-oocyte sphingosine-1-phosphate transfer is required for intergenerational neuroprotection and is dependent on the RME-2 lipoprotein yolk receptor. Sphingosine-1-phosphate acts intergenerationally by upregulating the transcription of the acid ceramidase-1 (asah-1) gene in the intestine. Spatial regulation of sphingolipid metabolism is critical, as inappropriate asah-1 expression in neurons causes developmental axon outgrowth defects. Our results show that sphingolipid homeostasis impacts the development and intergenerational health of the nervous system. The ability of specific lipid metabolites to act as messengers between generations may have broad implications for dietary choice during reproduction.
Volume 25(8)
Pages 1196-1207
Published 2023-8-1
DOI 10.1038/s41556-023-01195-9
PII 10.1038/s41556-023-01195-9
PMID 37537365
PMC PMC10415181
MeSH Animals Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics Intestines Neuroprotection* Sphingolipids* / metabolism Ursolic Acid
Resource
C.elegans tm495 tm1200