Reduced Insulin/IGF-1 Signaling Dramatically Extends Male Lifespan in C. elegans

BUFFALO, NY — September 10, 2026 — A new #research paper was #published in Volume 18 of Aging on August 24, 2026, titled “Disruption of the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans dramatically increases male longevity and enhances reproductive health late in life.”

The research was conducted by Rose S. Al-Saadi, Hannah B. Lewack and Patrick C. Phillips. Al-Saadi and Lewack contributed equally to the study. Al-Saadi and Phillips are from the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Oregon, while Lewack is affiliated with both the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Oregon and the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of California, San Diego. Phillips is the corresponding author.

Insulin/IGF-1 signaling (IIS) is one of the best-established molecular pathways regulating longevity across animal species. In C. elegans, the gene DAF-2 encodes an insulin/IGF-1 receptor, and reducing its activity can substantially extend lifespan. However, most previous aging studies in this model have focused on hermaphrodites, leaving considerably less known about how males respond to interventions targeting the same pathway.

To investigate these sex-specific effects, the researchers used an auxin-inducible degron system to selectively degrade the DAF-2 receptor throughout the body or within particular tissues. When DAF-2 was degraded throughout the body, the effect on male longevity was striking: median lifespan increased by 446%, compared with a 109% increase in hermaphrodites exposed to the same intervention. The age at which 10% of the population remained alive reached 106 days in treated males, compared with 15 days in controls. The authors describe this as one of the largest lifespan extensions reported in C. elegans—or any animal—from a single intervention.

Full press release - https://www.aging-us.com/news-room/reduced-insulin-igf-1-signaling-dramatically-extends-male-lifespan-in-c-elegans

DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.206411

Corresponding author - Patrick C. Phillips - pphil@uoregon.edu

Abstract video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ32BnBwEBI

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Keywords - aging, Insulin/IGF-1 signaling, sex differences, Caenorhabditis elegans, reproductive health