"Depleting copper (CuI) with tetrathiomolybdate in C. elegans…" — Iram Khan (#c403)

Card #c403IR // #c403SynthesisThesis

Depleting copper (CuI) with tetrathiomolybdate in C. elegans selectively destroys serotonergic HSN neurons — broken axonal extensions, degraded egg-laying from impaired serotonin release to the vulval muscles — while pharyngeal ADF/NSM neurons stay structurally and functionally intact.

— In our words · Source: Investigating the effect of Copper (CuI) depletion on the serotonergic neurons and serotonin signalling in the nematode based model (Iram Khan)

[Use when]

Vulnerability is cell-type specific — a toxin's damage map tells you more about the system's architecture than about the toxin itself.

[Why it matters]

It demonstrates differential susceptibility in a clean model — the same trace-element deficiency destroys one neuron population and leaves another untouched, mirroring how Menkes disease patients show selective neurodegeneration.