Theoretical and Natural Science

- The Open Access Proceedings Series for Conferences


Theoretical and Natural Science

Vol. 16, 04 December 2023

Open Access | Article

Effects of sucralose on learning and memory in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Houze Yang * 1
1 The Experimental High School Attached To Beijing Normal University

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Theoretical and Natural Science, Vol. 16, 25-41
Published 04 December 2023. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by EWA Publishing
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Citation Houze Yang. Effects of sucralose on learning and memory in Caenorhabditis Elegans. TNS (2023) Vol. 16: 25-41. DOI: 10.54254/2753-8818/16/20240509.

Abstract

Sugar-substituted beverages, including those sweetened with sucralose, are popular as sugar-free alternatives. However, the impact of sucralose on learning and memory abilities remains inconclusive. This study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of sucralose, a commonly used sugar substitute, on the learning and memory abilities of Caenorhabditis elegans. Three different concentrations of sucralose were administered to C. elegans at the developmental stage to observe the effects on their non-associative and associative learning abilities. Non-associative learning was assessed through tap stimulus and odor chemotaxis assays, while associative learning was measured using a combination of high NaCl concentration and starvation-induced chemotaxis response. RT-qPCR analysis was employed to detect changes in the expression of 11 learning and memory-related genes in C. elegans exposed to sucralose, and homology analysis was conducted to compare these genes with their human counterparts. The results showed that C. elegans treated with a high concentration of sucralose exhibited significantly prolonged withdrawal reaction times, while those treated with a low concentration displayed reduced odor chemotaxis. Additionally, nematodes treated with different sucralose concentrations demonstrated impaired associative learning ability. RT-qPCR analysis revealed a significant down-regulation in the relative expression of all genes following high sucralose treatment, with the glutamate receptor signaling pathway being the most affected. Homology analysis indicated that 10 out of the 11 genes had homologs in humans. In conclusion, this study suggests that high concentrations of sucralose can diminish the learning and memory abilities of nematodes by extensively modulating learning and memory-related pathways, particularly affecting the glutamate receptor signaling pathway.

Keywords

Sugar Substitutes, Sucralose, C. Elegans, Learning, Memory

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Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Modern Medicine and Global Health
ISBN (Print)
978-1-83558-195-7
ISBN (Online)
978-1-83558-196-4
Published Date
04 December 2023
Series
Theoretical and Natural Science
ISSN (Print)
2753-8818
ISSN (Online)
2753-8826
DOI
10.54254/2753-8818/16/20240509
Copyright
04 December 2023
Open Access
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Copyright © 2023 EWA Publishing. Unless Otherwise Stated