Somatic expression of unc-54 and vha-6 mRNAs declines but not pan-neuronal rgef-1 and unc-119 expression in aging Caenorhabditis elegans

Aging is a highly controlled biological process characterized by a progressive deterioration of various cellular activities. One of several hallmarks of aging describes a link to transcriptional alteration, suggesting that it may impact the steady-state mRNA levels. We analyzed the mRNA steady-state levels of polyCAG-encoding transgenes and endogenous genes under the control of well-characterized promoters for intestinal (vha-6), muscular (unc-54, unc-15) and pan-neuronal (rgef-1, unc-119) expression in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that there is not a uniform change in transcriptional profile in aging, but rather a tissue-specific difference in the mRNA levels of these genes. While levels of mRNA in the intestine (vha-6) and muscular (unc-54, unc-15) cells decline with age, pan-neuronal tissue shows more stable mRNA expression (rgef-1, unc-119) which even slightly increases with the age of the animals. Our data on the variations in the mRNA abundance from exemplary cases of endogenous and transgenic gene expression contribute to the emerging evidence for tissue-specific variations in the aging process.