Coupling of Rigor Mortis and Intestinal Necrosis during C. elegans Organismal Death.

ABSTRACT: Organismal death is a process of systemic collapse whose mechanisms are less well understood than those of cell death. We previously reported that death in C. elegans is accompanied by a calcium-propagated wave of intestinal necrosis, marked by a wave of blue autofluorescence (death fluorescence). Here, we describe another feature of organismal death, a wave of body wall muscle contraction, or death contraction (DC). This phenomenon is accompanied by a wave of intramuscular Ca²⁺ release and, subsequently, of intestinal necrosis. Correlation of directions of the DC and intestinal necrosis waves implies coupling of these death processes. Long-lived insulin/IGF-1-signaling mutants show reduced DC and delayed intestinal necrosis, suggesting possible resistance to organismal death. D

SUBMITTER: Galimov ER 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5863043 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature