C. elegans Lifespan Assay

Eggs were obtained as described previously (Stiernagle, 2006) and transferred to E. coli (OP50) seeded NGM plates, either control plates or plates prepared in the presence of the required drug. For each assay, around 100 synchronized young adults (day 1) were transferred to E. coli (OP50) seeded NGM plates (35 mm plates, 10 worms/plate) containing 15 μM Fluorodeoxyuridine (FUdR) to avoid progeny. Control and drug-containing assays were always carried out in parallel. Plates were scored for dead worms every day. Worms that did not respond to touch with a platinum wire were considered dead. Age refers to days following adulthood. Plates with fungal contamination during the first 10 days of the assay were excluded from the study. Missing worms, individuals with extruded gonad or desiccated by crawling in the edge of the plate were censored, as well as plates with fungal contamination after the first 10 days. Control and drug-containing plates were kept close together in a temperature-controlled incubator set at 20°C. Statistics was made with the SPSS software using the Kaplan-Meier estimator and the log-rank routine for significance.