Hyperlocomotion in flies expressing mutant form of hDAT associated with autism.

Hamilton PJ, Campbell NG, Sharma S, Erreger K, Herborg Hansen F, Saunders C, Belovich AN; NIH ARRA Autism Sequencing Consortium, Sahai MA, Cook EH, Gether U, McHaourab HS, Matthies HJ, Sutcliffe JS, Galli A. De novo mutation in the dopamine transporter gene associates dopamine dysfunction with autism spectrum disorder. Mol Psychiatry. 2013 Dec;18(12):1315-1323. PMID: 23979605.

From the abstract: "De novo genetic variation is an important class of risk factors for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Recently, whole-exome sequencing of ASD families has identified a novel de novo missense mutation in the human dopamine (DA) transporter (hDAT) gene, which results in a Thr to Met substitution at site 356 (hDAT T356M). ... In Drosophila melanogaster, the expression of hDAT T356M in DA neurons-lacking Drosophila DAT leads to hyperlocomotion, a trait associated with DA dysfunction and ASD."

Accompanying image: Hamilton PJ, Campbell NG, Sharma S, Erreger K, Hansen FH, Saunders C, Belovich AN, Sahai MA, Cook EH, Gether U, McHaourab HS, Matthies HJ, Sutcliffe JS, Galli A. Drosophila melanogaster: a novel animal model for the behavioral characterization of autism-associated mutations in the dopamine transporter gene. Mol Psychiatry. 2013 Dec;18(12):1235. PMID: 24253181

Polarity gene Crumbs & A-beta-42-mediated neurodegeneration. Alzhemier's Disease-related fly study.

Steffensmeier AM, Tare M, Puli OR, Modi R, Nainaparampil J, Kango-Singh M, Singh A. Novel Neuroprotective Function of Apical-Basal Polarity Gene Crumbs in Amyloid Beta 42 (Aβ42) Mediated Neurodegeneration. PLoS One. 2013 Nov 18;8(11):e78717. PMID: 24260128.

Light treatment and fly Parkinson's Disease model.

Vos M, Lovisa B, Geens A, Morais VA, Wagnières G, van den Bergh H, Ginggen A, De Strooper B, Tardy Y, Verstreken P. Near-Infrared 808 nm Light Boosts Complex IV-Dependent Respiration and Rescues a Parkinson-Related pink1 Model. PLoS One. PMID: 24244323.

From the abstract:  "Irradiating Drosophila pink1 mutants using a single dose of 808 nm light results in a rescue of major systemic and mitochondrial defects."

Mammalian Parkin protein interaction study uses fly data in assigning confidence.

Zanon A, Rakovic A, Blankenburg H, Doncheva NT, Schwienbacher C, Serafin A, Alexa A, Weichenberger CX, Albrecht M, Klein C, Hicks AA, Pramstaller PP, Domingues FS, Pichler I. Profiling of parkin-binding partners using tandem affinity purification. PLoS One. 2013 PMID: 24244333.

Honing in on specific cells involved in locomotion. Parkinson's Disease-related fly study.

Riemensperger T, Issa AR, Pech U, Coulom H, Nguyễn MV, Cassar M, Jacquet M, Fiala A, Birman S. A Single Dopamine Pathway Underlies Progressive Locomotor Deficits in a Drosophila Model of Parkinson Disease. Cell Rep. 2013 Nov 13. PMID: 24239353.

Bisphenol A & obesity.

Williams MJ, Wang Y, Klockars A, Lind PM, Fredriksson R, Schiöth HB. Exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) Affects Lipid Metabolism in Drosophila melanogaster. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2013 Nov 11. doi: 10.1111/bcpt.12170. PMID: 24215246.

From the abstract:  "Exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) in rodents was shown to induce obesity ... We employed the genetically tractable model organism, Drosophila melanogaster, to test the effects of raising them on food containing various concentrations of BPA. ... we conclude that BPA may inhibit lipid recruitment during starvation in Drosophila."

Fungal compound as possible environmental risk factor for Parkinson's Disease.

Inamdar AA, Hossain MM, Bernstein AI, Miller GW, Richardson JR, Bennett JW. Fungal-derived semiochemical 1-octen-3-ol disrupts dopamine packaging and causes neurodegeneration. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Nov 11. PMID: 24218591.

From the abstract:  "... To date ... suspected environmental risk factors [for Parkinson's Disease] have been man-made chemicals. In this report, we demonstrate ... that the common volatile fungal semiochemical 1-octen-3-ol reduces dopamine levels and causes dopamine neuron degeneration in Drosophila melanogaster. ..."

Study in mice and flies implicates Parkin in defense against pathogens. Recent report.

Manzanillo PS, Ayres JS, Watson RO, Collins AC, Souza G, Rae CS, Schneider DS, Nakamura K, Shiloh MU, Cox JS. The ubiquitin ligase parkin mediates resistance to intracellular pathogens. Nature. 2013 Sep 26;501(7468):512-6. PMID: 24005326.

Fly assays contribute to study focused on chronic mountain sickness (CMS), also known as Monge disease. Recent rerpot.

Zhou D, Udpa N, Ronen R, Stobdan T, Liang J, Appenzeller O, Zhao HW, Yin Y, Du Y, Guo L, Cao R, Wang Y, Jin X, Huang C, Jia W, Cao D, Guo G, Gamboa JL, Villafuerte F, Callacondo D, Xue J, Liu S, Frazer KA, Li Y, Bafna V, Haddad GG. Whole-genome sequencing uncovers the genetic basis of chronic mountain sickness in Andean highlanders. Am J Hum Genet. 2013 Sep 5;93(3):452-62. PMID: 23954164; PMCID: PMC3769925.

Fly assays included in Fragile X study. Top3beta RNA topoisomerase. Recent report.

Xu D, Shen W, Guo R, Xue Y, Peng W, Sima J, Yang J, Sharov A, Srikantan S, Yang J, Fox D 3rd, Qian Y, Martindale JL, Piao Y, Machamer J, Joshi SR, Mohanty S, Shaw AC, Lloyd TE, Brown GW, Ko MS, Gorospe M, Zou S, Wang W. Top3β is an RNA topoisomerase that works with fragile X syndrome protein to promote synapse formation. Nat Neurosci. 2013 Sep;16(9):1238-47. PMID: 23912945.

Fly assay helps confirm relevance of ANK3 disruptions to neurodevelopmental disorders. Recent report.

Iqbal Z, Vandeweyer G, van der Voet M, Waryah AM, Zahoor MY, Besseling JA, Roca LT, Vulto-van Silfhout AT, Nijhof B, Kramer JM, Van der Aa N, Ansar M, Peeters H, Helsmoortel C, Gilissen C, Vissers LE, Veltman JA, de Brouwer AP, Frank Kooy R, Riazuddin S, Schenck A, van Bokhoven H, Rooms L. Homozygous and heterozygous disruptions of ANK3: at the crossroads of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Hum Mol Genet. 2013 May 15;22(10):1960-70. PMID: 23390136.

From the abstract:  "... The causality of ANK3 mutations in the two families and the role of the gene in cognitive function were supported by memory defects in a Drosophila knockdown model. ...

TDP-43 in fly neurons and glia. Relevance to ALS. Recent report.

Estes PS, Daniel SG, McCallum AP, Boehringer AV, Sukhina AS, Zwick RA, Zarnescu DC. Motor neurons and glia exhibit specific individualized responses to TDP-43 expression in a Drosophila model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Dis Model Mech. 2013 May;6(3):721-33. PMID: 23471911; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3634655.

From the abstract: "Here we report the phenotypic consequences of expressing wild-type and four different ALS-linked TDP-43 mutations in neurons and glia. ... These findings support the notion that although motor neurons and glia are both involved in ALS pathology, at the cellular level they can exhibit different responses to TDP-43. In addition, our data suggest that individual TDP-43 alleles utilize distinct molecular mechanisms, which will be important for developing therapeutic strategies."

Plant extracts, reactive oxygen and fly models. Recent reports relevant to neurodegenerative disease.

Ng CF, Ko CH, Koon CM, Xian JW, Leung PC, Fung KP, Chan HY, Lau CB. The Aqueous Extract of Rhizome of Gastrodia elata Protected Drosophila and PC12 Cells against Beta-Amyloid-Induced Neurotoxicity. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:516741. PMID: 24174977.


2: Jahromi SR, Haddadi M, Shivanandappa T, Ramesh SR. Neuroprotective Effect of Decalepis hamiltonii in Paraquat-Induced Neurotoxicity in Drosophila melanogaster: Biochemical and Behavioral Evidences. Neurochem Res. 2013 Oct 31. PMID: 24173775.