Applying C. elegans to the Industrial Drug Discovery Process to Slow Aging

Weinkove, David; Zavagno, Giulia

doi:10.3389/fragi.2021.740582

Applying C. elegans to the Industrial Drug Discovery Process to Slow Aging

Weinkove, David; Zavagno, Giulia

Authors

Professor David Weinkove david.weinkove@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Giulia Zavagno giulia.h.zavagno@durham.ac.uk
PGR Student Doctor of Philosophy

Abstract

The increase in our molecular understanding of the biology of aging, coupled with a recent surge in investment, has led to the formation of several companies developing pharmaceuticals to slow aging. Research using the tiny nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans was the first to show that mutations in single genes can extend lifespan, and subsequent research has shown that this model organism is uniquely suited to testing interventions to slow aging. Yet, with a few notable exceptions, C. elegans is not in the standard toolkit of longevity companies. Here we discuss the paths to overcome the barriers to using C. elegans in industrial drug discovery. We address the predictive power of C. elegans for human aging, how C. elegans research can be applied to specific challenges in the typical drug discovery pipeline, and how standardised and quantitative assays will help C. elegans fulfil its potential in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. We argue that correct application of this model and its knowledge base will significantly accelerate progress to slow human aging.

Citation

Weinkove, D., & Zavagno, G. (2021). Applying C. elegans to the Industrial Drug Discovery Process to Slow Aging. Frontiers in Aging, 2, Article 740582. https://doi.org/10.3389/fragi.2021.740582

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Sep 29, 2021
Online Publication Date	Oct 19, 2021
Publication Date	2021
Deposit Date	Feb 14, 2022
Publicly Available Date	Oct 24, 2022
Journal	Frontiers in Aging
Electronic ISSN	2673-6217
Publisher	Frontiers Media
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	2
Article Number	740582
DOI	https://doi.org/10.3389/fragi.2021.740582
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1217105

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Copyright Statement
© 2021 Weinkove and Zavagno. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.