Early-life stress triggers long-lasting organismal resilience and longevity via tetraspanin

Sci Adv. 2024 Jan 26;10(4):eadj3880. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adj3880. Epub 2024 Jan 24.

Abstract

Early-life stress experiences can produce lasting impacts on organismal adaptation and fitness. How transient stress elicits memory-like physiological effects is largely unknown. Here, we show that early-life thermal stress strongly up-regulates tsp-1, a gene encoding the conserved transmembrane tetraspanin in C. elegans. TSP-1 forms prominent multimers and stable web-like structures critical for membrane barrier functions in adults and during aging. Increased TSP-1 abundance persists even after transient early-life heat stress. Such regulation requires CBP-1, a histone acetyltransferase that facilitates initial tsp-1 transcription. Tetraspanin webs form regular membrane structures and mediate resilience-promoting effects of early-life thermal stress. Gain-of-function TSP-1 confers marked C. elegans longevity extension and thermal resilience in human cells. Together, our results reveal a cellular mechanism by which early-life thermal stress produces long-lasting memory-like impact on organismal resilience and longevity.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences*
  • Animals
  • Caenorhabditis elegans
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins* / genetics
  • Histone Acetyltransferases
  • Humans
  • Longevity
  • Resilience, Psychological*
  • Tetraspanins / genetics
  • Thrombospondin 1
  • Transcription Factors

Substances

  • Thrombospondin 1
  • Tetraspanins
  • CBP-1 protein, C elegans
  • Transcription Factors
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
  • Histone Acetyltransferases