The Anticonvulsant Ethosuximide Disrupts Sensory Function to Extend C. elegans Lifespan
Figure 6
Ethosuximide disrupted chemotaxis toward the volatile attractants isoamyl alcohol and diacetyl.
Wild-type animals grown from conception to adulthood on NGM plates containing 2 mg/ml ethosuximide or no drug were transferred to the center of a 10 cM chemotaxis plate containing 4 mg/ml of ethosuximide or no drug, respectively. A chemotaxis index (CI) to isoamyl alcohol or diacetyl was determined. (A) Chemotaxis to isoamyl alcohol. The mean CI±SD for untreated and ethosuximide treated animals was 0.8±0.2 and 0.3±0.2, respectively (p<0.0001, n = 8) (Student T-test). (B) Chemotaxis to diacetyl. The mean CI±SD for untreated and ethosuximide treated animals was 0.8±0.14 and 0.2±0.2, respectively (p = 0.0009, n = 6) (Student T-test). Error bars represent standard error of mean.