Cardiotoxic LC affects nematode survival and pharyngeal ROS generation. (A) Kaplan-Meier survival curves of worms treated with vehicle, 100 µg/mL of amyloidogenic BJ cardiotoxic protein (H6-BJ), or 100 µg/ml of nonamyloidogenic BJ protein (MM2-BJ). Survival is expressed as a percentage of the initial population (3 independent experiments, n = 30 worms/group). Median survival was 14 days for vehicle, 9 days for H6-BJ (P = .024 vs vehicle, log-rank test), and 14 days for MM2-BJ (P = .072 vs worms treated with H6-BJ and P = .53 vs vehicle, log-rank test). (B) Representative images obtained from the overlay of a contrast phase and MitoSOX fluorescence. N2 worms (at L3-L4 larval stage) were fed 2 hours with vehicle or 100 µg/mL of MM2-BJ or H6-BJ. Positive control worms were fed 0.1 mM hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) for 30 min. Nematodes were then transferred to NGM plates seeded with fresh OP50 E coli and 10 µM MitoSOX Red dye. Original magnification ×40 was used. Arrows indicate the radical superoxide generation in the mitochondria of pharyngeal bulb of C elegans fed cardiotoxic H6-BJ protein or H₂O₂.