What are ticlopidine, sertaconazole, and dexlansoprazole, and what effects do they have on C. elegans?

A study investigates the effects of three FDA-approved drugs—ticlopidine, sertaconazole, and dexlansoprazole—on the nematode C. elegans, a model organism used for toxicity and drug effect studies. The research aims to understand how these drugs, which are commonly prescribed to humans, might cause morphological changes and lethality in C. elegans.

Ticlopidine is an anticoagulant that inhibits platelet aggregation by blocking an adenosine-diphosphate receptor. In C. elegans, it causes large blebs in the pharynx and results in 28% lethality upon acute exposure. Sertaconazole is an antifungal agent that disrupts fungal cell membranes. It induces small blebs in the pharynx and causes 67% lethality in C. elegans. Dexlansoprazole is a proton-pump inhibitor used to treat gastroesophageal reflux and peptic ulcers. It causes molting defects and pharyngeal blockages in C. elegans when exposure occurs during larval development, but it does not cause lethality.