The Effect of Soy Derived Phytoestrogens on Innate Immunity in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Phytoestrogens, also known as isoflavones, have been suggested to strengthen the immune system and thus increase life span. Studies suggests that they can be beneficial to our health by reducing many chronic diseases such as obesity, cancer, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease via antioxidant properties that fight off free radicals. In addition, the nematode animal model, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is an excellent model for research investigating interactions between host and pathogen, as they have a short life span and encompass an innate immune system that is homologous to some advanced organisms. Therefore in this study we examined the effect of phytoestrogens (daidzein and/or genistein) on immunity using various C. elegans strains (AKT-1, AGE-1, and DAF-16). C. elegans nematodes of various strains were treated with phytoestrogens from the first stage of development, immunologically challenged with the bacterial pathogen (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and monitored for mortality over an 80 hour period. Our preliminary findings showed that phytoestrogen treated C. elegans strain, AKT-1 had a statistically reduced mortality compared to their control treated counterpart (ETOH/OP50). However, AGE-1 showed a statistically reduced mortality only when treated with the phytoestrogen genistein.  There was no statistical significance for the DAF-16 strain, however we did notice a trend towards decreased mortality. While these findings are very promising, further studies must be conducted on AGE-1 and DAF-16 strains to confirm the results, due to the high variance between individual nematodes.