Shock Wave–Induced Neuromodulation Assessed in C. Elegans
Hochstrasser H, Kaub L, Maier L, Angstman NB, Kenmoku T, Nussbaum-Krammer C, Schmitz C. Behavioral changes in Caenorhabditis elegans after exposure to radial extracorporeal shock waves. J Clin Med 2025;14(20):7206. doi: 10.3390/jcm14207206.
Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a leading cause of childhood motor disability, often associated with spasticity. Radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) is a non-invasive treatment that reduces spasticity, but its mechanisms are unclear. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans offers a well-characterized, cost-effective model for studying neuromuscular signaling, as its cholinergic neurotransmission and acetylcholine receptor subtypes resemble those of vertebrates.
Hypothesis: This study hypothesized that exposure of C. elegans to radial extracorporeal shock waves (rESWs) reduces the behavioral effects of the cholinergic agonists nicotine and carbachol, mediated via nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ).
Methods: The authors exposed wild-type and acr-16 mutant C. elegans to various combinations of rESWs, nicotine and carbachol in liquid medium. Locomotor activity – quantified as peristaltic speed, wavelength, reversals and omega bends – was analyzed from high-resolution video recordings obtained with WormLab and the WormLab Imaging System.
Results: Exposure to rESWs transiently altered locomotion, mainly by reducing forward speed and increasing reversal frequency. Nicotine and carbachol alone or combined with rESWs caused modest or inconsistent effects on locomotor parameters. These behavioral changes were not clearly dependent on NMJ-associated nicotinic receptors, and recovery time modified the magnitude and direction of effects.
Conclusions: rESWs induced reversible behavioral alterations in C. elegans, indicating systemic nervous system effects beyond neuromuscular sites. While C. elegans may not directly model rESW-induced antispastic mechanisms in CP, the results suggest broader neuromodulatory actions of rESWs relevant to neurological disorders.
