Caenorhabditis elegans as a model host to study effects of lactic acid bacteria and functional food factors.

Abstract

Several approaches for regulating health and disease by intestinal bacteria, bacteria isolated from food products, and food factors have been investigated; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying the interactions between these bacteria and their hosts are still unknown. Caenorhabditis elegans is a crucial model for exploring various biological phenomena and has been used in studying intestinal bacteria, mainly in the field of antiaging, anti-amyloid β activity in Alzheimer's disease, and its interaction to hosts. The nematode model is expected to be increasingly utilized for elucidating the interactions of beneficial bacteria or food factors with hosts. Herein, we review anti-aging and suppression of amyloid-β expression in a C. elegans model fed lactic acid bacteria, and our developed methods for orally administering food factors and assessing advanced glycation end products as an aging indicator.