Simulative Evaluation of Taurine Against Alopecia Caused by Stress in Caenorhabditis elegans - Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology - page 255

Fig. 25.2 Effect of taurine on hsp-70 expression in ER-stressed C. elegans . The expression of
hsp-70 was compared at the three concentrations of taurine. Tun-treated worms showed a higher
expression of hsp-70 compared to no Tun (or no stress) treatment. Along the increase of taurine
concentration, however, the level of hsp-70 expression decreased significantly

when they were treated singularly with tunicamycin. A significant worm fraction
perished within 20 days after the start of the treatment. When the worms were
treated with the three candidate agents, their rescue rate increased in comparison to
Tun-only treatment (Fig. 25.3 ). Among the three candidate chemicals, taurine nota-
bly enhanced the rescue rate. Both astressin-B and finasteride exerted positive
effects on the rescue rate although taurine surpassed the two anti-alopecia agents
considerably. These data indicate that the agents against alopecia may help the
worms recover from the chemical stress by Tun. Also, the enhanced rescue rate
strongly implies that the agents may help the extension of worm's lifespan which
has been significantly shortened under chemical stress by Tun.

25.3.3 Progeny Number Recovered Under

Treatments with Anti-Alopecia Agent

Each offspring number was recorded daily up to 4 days following the application of
the three candidate molecules to the tunicamycin-treated worms. When worms were
treated with Tun, they produced much less offspring compared to the Tun-free treat-
ment. Nevertheless, the worms appeared to recover from the effect of Tun when
they were transferred to the media containing the respective candidate chemicals
(Fig. 25.4 ). Both finasteride and astressin-B show a positive effect on the number of
progeny. Compared to the two chemicals, taurine showed a more positive effect on
the ER-stressed worms. Throughout the 2-4 day count, taurine-treated worms pro-
duce at least 20% more offspring than Tun-only-treated worms on the per capita
basis. These results indicate that the three anti-alopecia agents help the worms to