Obesogenic effect of erythromycin on Caenorhabditis elegans through over-eating and lipid metabolism disturbances

Environmental obesogens contributed significantly to the obesity prevalence. Recently, antibiotics joined the list of environmental obesogens, while the underlying mechanisms remained to be explored. In the present study, effects of erythromycin (ERY), one widely used macrolide antibiotic, were measured on C. elegans to investigate the obesogenic mechanism. Results showed that ERY at 0.1 mu g/L significantly increased the fat content by 17.4% more than the control and also stimulated triacylglycerol (TAG) levels by 25.7% more than the control. Regarding the obesogenic mechanisms, ERY provoked over-eating by stimulation on the pharyngeal pumping and reduction on the satiety quiescence percentage and duration. Such effects were resulted from stimulation on the neurotransmitters including serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA) and acetylcholine (ACh). The nervous responses involved the up-regulation of Gsa (e.g., ser-7, gsa-1, acy-1 and kin-2) signaling pathway and the down-regulation of TGF beta (daf-7) but not via cGMP-dependent regulations (e.g., egl-4). Moreover, ERY stimulated the activities of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and glycerol-3-phosphateacyl transferases (GPAT) that catalyze lipogenesis, while ERY inhibited those of acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS), carnitine palmitoyl transferase (CPT) and acyl-CoA oxidase (ACO) that catalyze lipolysis. The unbalance between lipogenesis and lipolysis resulted in the fat accumulation which was consistent with up-regulation on mgl-1 and mgl-3 which are the down-steam of TGF beta regulation. Such consistence supported the close connection between nervous regulation and lipid metabolism. In addition, ERY also disturbed insulin which connects lipid with glucose in metabolism.

Automated summary

Environmental obesogens, including antibiotics, contribute significantly to the prevalence of obesity. In this study, the effects of erythromycin, a widely used macrolide antibiotic, on C. elegans were investigated to understand the obesogenic mechanism. The results showed that erythromycin increased fat content and stimulated triacylglycerol levels by affecting neurotransmitters, nervous responses, and lipid metabolism. This study highlights the importance of environmental obesogens, such as antibiotics, in the development of obesity.