C. elegans in high-throughput drug discovery

Abstract

Caenorhabditis elegans has been proven to be a useful model organism for investigating molecular and cellular aspects of numerous human diseases. More recently, investigators have explored the use of this organism as a tool for drug discovery. Although earlier drug screens were labor-intensive and low in throughput, recent advances in high-throughput liquid workflows, imaging platforms and data analysis software have made C. elegans a viable option for automated high-throughput drug screens. This review will outline the evolution of C. elegans-based drug screening, discuss the inherent challenges of using C. elegans, and highlight recent technological advances that have paved the way for future drug screens.

Keywords: Clozapine (PubChem CID: 2818); Drug target identification; Fluphenazine (PubChem CID: 3372); High-throughput screening; Human disease models; Nemadipine-A (PubChem CID: 2856102); Pharmaceuticals; Phenotypic analysis; Small molecules; Whole organism model.