Do findings in worms translate to humans? │ Sending Worms to Space with Colleen Deane

Do findings in worms translate to humans? And what findings are similar between the two? In this next episode of our amazing new series, Worms in Space for Health on Earth, we tell you some of the cool findings that are similar in the C. elegans worm and humans.

The molecules that help muscle movement, they decline in space-flown worms and similar findings have been shown in astronauts. This is important because if we want to translate findings from a worm to people, we must have a finding in the worm that is shown in humans.

So, to delve a little bit deeper, worms have areas within their muscle where lots and lots of different molecules collect together, and these sites are called dense bodies. Now, dense bodies are quite complex, and they contain over 150 different molecules. These molecules link parts of the muscle that contract with the outside of the muscle cell, so they are very important for providing structure to muscle. They also transfer force, allowing muscle contraction, and they coordinate the metabolic processes within the muscle. These dense bodies also exist in humans, but in humans they are called focal adhesions, and in humans they perform similar functions that they do in the worm. And this is a key example of similar structures between worms and humans.

Interestingly, when molecules within this complex become disrupted, the ability of muscles to produce force declines. Now, in humans, exercise that causes the muscle to get longer while contracting, for example if you are running downhill, that can cause muscle dysfunction where your muscle strength declines temporarily. This particular type of lengthening exercise is termed eccentric exercise, and we have observed in both young and older adults that eccentric exercise using a leg press machine like you kind of get in the gym, reduced muscle strength for about 7 days after exercise. This exercise induced muscle dysfunction be regulated by changes in these focal adhesions that we have in the muscle, and we think this because we have seen some of the molecules within this complex change position after eccentric exercise.

So, going back to worms, when molecules within these dense bodies are disrupted, this also reduces the ability of muscles to produce energy. And remember, energy is critical for muscle function and cellular processes. In humans, there are findings to suggest that eccentric exercise, so that lengthening type of exercise, reduces the ability of the muscles to produce energy as well. So, changes in the dense bodies in the worm and changes in the focal adhesions in humans correlate with changes in muscle function and metabolism.

This demonstrates some of the translational links between worms and humans, and we have gone on to do clinical trials in humans based on findings that we have in the worms.

So, how are the results from the Worms in Space programme being applied to humans on Earth? Can we actually even do that? Our next episode looks at how clinical trials involving people on Earth are testing the results from the research into worms in space.

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