Proteome-wide Changes in Protein Turnover Rates in C. elegans Models of Longevity and Age-Related Disease

The balance between protein synthesis and protein breakdown is a major determinant of protein homeostasis, and loss of protein homeostasis is one of the hallmarks of aging. Here we describe pulsed SILAC-based experiments to estimate proteome-wide turnover rates of individual proteins. We applied this method to determine protein turnover rates in Caenorhabditis elegans models of longevity and Parkinson's disease, using both developing and adult animals. Whereas protein turnover in developing, long-lived daf-2(e1370) worms is about 30% slower than in controls, the opposite was observed in day 5 adult worms, in which protein turnover in the daf-2(e1370) mutant is twice as fast as in controls. In the Parkinson's model, protein turnover is reduced proportionally over the entire proteome, suggesting that the protein homeostasis network has a strong ability to adapt. The findings shed light on the relationship between protein turnover and healthy aging.