Fly researchers are very familiar with use of the fly eye to study aspects of diseases such as cancer, Huntington's disease, and even intellectual disability. For this report, researchers used the fly eye in a study related to degeneration of the human retina.
Kmoch S, Majewski J, Ramamurthy V, Cao S, Fahiminiya S, Ren H, MacDonald IM, Lopez I, Sun V, Keser V, Khan A, Stránecký V, Hartmannová H, Přistoupilová A, Hodaňová K, Piherová L, Kuchař L, Baxová A, Chen R, Barsottini OG, Pyle A, Griffin H, Splitt M, Sallum J, Tolmie JL, Sampson JR, Chinnery P; Care4Rare Canada, Banin E, Sharon D, Dutta S, Grebler R, Helfrich-Foerster C, Pedroso JL, Kretzschmar D, Cayouette M, Koenekoop RK. Mutations in PNPLA6 are linked to photoreceptor degeneration and various forms of childhood blindness. Nat Commun. PMID: 25574898; PMCID: PMC4356490.
From the abstract: "Blindness due to retinal degeneration affects millions of people worldwide, but many disease-causing mutations remain unknown. PNPLA6 encodes the patatin-like phospholipase domain containing protein 6, also known as neuropathy target esterase (NTE), which is the target of toxic organophosphates that induce human paralysis due to severe axonopathy of large neurons. ... Here we identify PNPLA6 mutations in childhood blindness in seven families with retinal degeneration ... PNPLA6 localizes mostly at the inner segment plasma membrane in photoreceptors and mutations in Drosophila PNPLA6 lead to photoreceptor cell death. We also report that lysophosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidic acid levels are elevated in mutant Drosophila. These findings show a role for PNPLA6 in photoreceptor survival and identify phospholipid metabolism as a potential therapeutic target for some forms of blindness."
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Fly model used to address role of reactive oxygen species in galactosemia
Jumbo-Lucioni PP, Ryan EL, Hopson ML, Bishop HM, Weitner T, Tovmasyan A, Spasojevic I, Batinic-Haberle I, Liang Y, Jones DP, Fridovich-Keil JL. Manganese-based superoxide dismutase mimics modify both acute and long-term outcome severity in a Drosophila melanogaster model of classic galactosemia. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2014 May 20;20(15):2361-71. PMID: 23758052; PMCID: PMC4005492.
More catching up -- fly models helping to reveal new insights into neurodegenertive diseases
Parkinson's Disease
Reviews
Gaki GS, Papavassiliou AG. Oxidative stress-induced signaling pathways implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. Neuromolecular Med. 2014 Jun;16(2):217-30. PMID: 24522549.
Deng H, Yuan L. Genetic variants and animal models in SNCA and Parkinson disease. Ageing Res Rev. 2014 May;15:161-76. PMID: 24768741.
Research reports
Büttner S, Broeskamp F, Sommer C, Markaki M, Habernig L, Alavian-Ghavanini A, Carmona-Gutierrez D, Eisenberg T, Michael E, Kroemer G, Tavernarakis N, Sigrist SJ, Madeo F. Spermidine protects against α-synuclein neurotoxicity. Cell Cycle. 2014;13(24):3903-8. PMID: 25483063.
Siddique YH, Naz F, Jyoti S, Fatima A, Khanam S, Rahul, Ali F, Mujtaba SF, Faisal M. Effect of Centella asiatica Leaf Extract on the Dietary Supplementation in Transgenic Drosophila Model of Parkinson's Disease. Parkinsons Dis. 2014;2014:262058. PMID: 25538856; PMCID: PMC4265550.
Roy B, Jackson GR. Interactions between Tau and α-synuclein augment neurotoxicity in a Drosophila model of Parkinson's disease. Hum Mol Genet. 2014 Jun 1;23(11):3008-23. PMID:
24430504; PMCID: PMC4014195. From the abstract: "Clinical and pathological studies have suggested considerable overlap between tauopathies and synucleinopathies. Several genome-wide association studies have identified alpha-Synuclein (SNCA) and Tau (MAPT) polymorphisms as common risk factors for sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the mechanisms by which subtle variations in the expression of wild-type SNCA and MAPT influence risk for PD and the underlying cellular events that effect neurotoxicity remain unclear. To examine causes of neurotoxicity associated with the α-Syn/Tau interaction, we used the fruit fly as a model. ... "
Angeles DC, Ho P, Chua LL, Wang C, Yap YW, Ng C, Zhou Zd, Lim KL, Wszolek ZK, Wang HY, Tan EK. Thiol peroxidases ameliorate LRRK2 mutant-induced mitochondrial and dopaminergic neuronal degeneration in Drosophila. Hum Mol Genet. 2014 Jun 15;23(12):3157-65. PMID: 24459295; PMCID: PMC4030771.
Alzheimer's Disease and Tauopathies
Wacker J, Rönicke R, Westermann M, Wulff M, Reymann KG, Dobson CM, Horn U, Crowther DC, Luheshi LM, Fändrich M. Oligomer-targeting with a conformational antibody fragment promotes toxicity in Aβ-expressing flies. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2014 Apr 11;2:43. PMID: 24725347; PMCID: PMC4029271.
Papanikolopoulou K, Skoulakis EM. Temporally distinct phosphorylations differentiate Tau-dependent learning deficits and premature mortality in Drosophila. Hum Mol Genet. 2015 Apr 1;24(7):2065-77. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddu726. PMID: 25524708.
Santa-Maria I, Alaniz ME, Renwick N, Cela C, Fulga TA, Van Vactor D, Tuschl T, Clark LN, Shelanski ML, McCabe BD, Crary JF. Dysregulation of microRNA-219 promotes neurodegeneration through post-transcriptional regulation of tau. J Clin Invest. 2015 Feb;125(2):681-6. PubMed PMID: 25574843; PMCID: PMC4319412.
Huntington's Disease
Maheshwari M, Bhutani S, Das A, Mukherjee R, Sharma A, Kino Y, Nukina N, Jana NR. Dexamethasone induces heat shock response and slows down disease progression in mouse and fly models of Huntington's disease. Hum Mol Genet. 2014 May 15;23(10):2737-51. PMID: 24381308.
Lu XH, Mattis VB, Wang N, Al-Ramahi I, van den Berg N, Fratantoni SA, Waldvogel H, Greiner E, Osmand A, Elzein K, Xiao J, Dijkstra S, de Pril R, Vinters HV, Faull R, Signer E, Kwak S, Marugan JJ, Botas J, Fischer DF, Svendsen CN, Munoz-Sanjuan I, Yang XW. Targeting ATM ameliorates mutant Huntingtin toxicity in cell and animal models of Huntington's disease. Sci Transl Med. 2014 Dec 24;6(268):268ra178. PMID: 25540325.
Vittori A, Breda C, Repici M, Orth M, Roos RA, Outeiro TF, Giorgini F, Hollox EJ; REGISTRY investigators of the European Huntington's Disease Network. Copy-number variation of the neuronal glucose transporter gene SLC2A3 and age of onset in Huntington's disease. Hum Mol Genet. 2014 Jun 15;23(12):3129-37. PMID: 24452335; PMCID: PMC4030768.
ALS
King IN, Yartseva V, Salas D, Kumar A, Heidersbach A, Ando DM, Stallings NR, Elliott JL, Srivastava D, Ivey KN. The RNA-binding protein TDP-43 selectively disrupts microRNA-1/206 incorporation into the RNA-induced silencing complex. J Biol Chem. 2014 May 16;289(20):14263-71. PMID: 24719334; PMCID: PMC4022891.
SMA
Rossor AM, Oates EC, Salter HK, Liu Y, Murphy SM, Schule R, Gonzalez MA, Scoto M, Phadke R, Sewry CA, Houlden H, Jordanova A, Tournev I, Chamova T, Litvinenko I, Zuchner S, Herrmann DN, Blake J, Sowden JE, Acsadi G, Rodriguez ML, Menezes MP, Clarke NF, Auer Grumbach M, Bullock SL, Muntoni F, Reilly MM, North KN. Phenotypic and molecular insights into spinal muscular atrophy due to mutations in BICD2. Brain. 2015 Feb;138(Pt 2):293-310. PMID: 25497877; PMCID: PMC4306822.
Additional relevant to neurodegenerative disease
Manayi A, Saeidnia S, Gohari AR, Abdollahi M. Methods for the discovery of new anti-aging products--targeted approaches. Expert Opin Drug Discov. 2014 Apr;9(4):383-405. PMID: 24494592.
Liu L, Zhang K, Sandoval H, Yamamoto S, Jaiswal M, Sanz E, Li Z, Hui J, Graham BH, Quintana A, Bellen HJ. Glial lipid droplets and ROS induced by mitochondrial defects promote neurodegeneration. Cell. 2015 Jan 15;160(1-2):177-90. PMID: 25594180; PMCID: PMC4377295. From the abstract: "Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial defects in neurons are implicated in neurodegenerative disease. Here, we find that a key consequence of ROS and neuronal mitochondrial dysfunction is the accumulation of lipid droplets (LD) in glia. In Drosophila, ROS triggers c-Jun-N-terminal Kinase (JNK) and Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein (SREBP) activity in neurons leading to LD accumulation in glia ... "
New fly model of Leigh syndrome
Da-Rè C, von Stockum S, Biscontin A, Millino C, Cisotto P, Zordan MA, Zeviani M, Bernardi P, De Pittà C, Costa R. Leigh syndrome in Drosophila melanogaster: morphological and biochemical characterization of Surf1 post-transcriptional silencing. J Biol Chem. 2014 Oct 17;289(42):29235-46. PMID: 25164807; PMCID: PMC4200275.
From the abstract: "Leigh Syndrome (LS) is the most common early-onset, progressive mitochondrial encephalopathy usually leading to early death. The single most prevalent cause of LS is occurrence of mutations in the SURF1 gene, and LS(Surf1) patients show a ubiquitous and specific decrease in the activity of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex IV (cytochrome c oxidase, COX). SURF1 encodes an inner membrane mitochondrial protein involved in COX assembly. We established a Drosophila melanogaster model of LS based on the post-transcriptional silencing of CG9943, the Drosophila homolog of SURF1. ... We conclude that Surf1 is essential for COX activity and mitochondrial function in D. melanogaster, thus providing a new tool that may help clarify the pathogenic mechanisms of LS."
From the abstract: "Leigh Syndrome (LS) is the most common early-onset, progressive mitochondrial encephalopathy usually leading to early death. The single most prevalent cause of LS is occurrence of mutations in the SURF1 gene, and LS(Surf1) patients show a ubiquitous and specific decrease in the activity of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex IV (cytochrome c oxidase, COX). SURF1 encodes an inner membrane mitochondrial protein involved in COX assembly. We established a Drosophila melanogaster model of LS based on the post-transcriptional silencing of CG9943, the Drosophila homolog of SURF1. ... We conclude that Surf1 is essential for COX activity and mitochondrial function in D. melanogaster, thus providing a new tool that may help clarify the pathogenic mechanisms of LS."
Just a little more human--report describes modification of fly alpha-conotoxin receptor--relevant to neuronal disease modeling
Heghinian MD, Mejia M, Adams DJ, Godenschwege TA, Marí F. Inhibition of cholinergic pathways in Drosophila melanogaster by α-conotoxins. FASEB J. 2015 PMID: 25466886; PMCID: PMC4422358.
FlyRNAi: One-generation in vivo Drosophila genetic screenin...
FlyRNAi: One-generation in vivo Drosophila genetic screenin...: Galindo KA, Endicott TR, Avirneni-Vadlamudi U, Galindo RL. A rapid one-generation genetic screen in a Drosophila model to capture rhabdomyos...
Tech support--Fly as cancer model--Nature Protocols paper on tumor transplants in Drosophila
Rossi F, Gonzalez C. Studying tumor growth in Drosophila using the tissue allograft method. Nat Protoc. 2015 Oct;10(10):1525-34. PMID: 26357008.
From the abstract: "This protocol describes a method to allograft Drosophila larval tissue into adult fly hosts that can be used to assay the tumorigenic potential of mutant tissues. The tissue of interest is dissected, loaded into a fine glass needle and implanted into a host. Upon implantation, nontransformed tissues do not overgrow beyond their normal size, but malignant tumors grow without limit, are invasive and kill the host. ... This method also provides an operational definition of hyperplastic, benign and malignant growth. ..."
See also a post at The Node on this 80-year-old technique:
http://thenode.biologists.com/technique-dating-back-1935-recovered-cancer-research-flies/resources/
From the abstract: "This protocol describes a method to allograft Drosophila larval tissue into adult fly hosts that can be used to assay the tumorigenic potential of mutant tissues. The tissue of interest is dissected, loaded into a fine glass needle and implanted into a host. Upon implantation, nontransformed tissues do not overgrow beyond their normal size, but malignant tumors grow without limit, are invasive and kill the host. ... This method also provides an operational definition of hyperplastic, benign and malignant growth. ..."
See also a post at The Node on this 80-year-old technique:
http://thenode.biologists.com/technique-dating-back-1935-recovered-cancer-research-flies/resources/
Fly study provides "insight into why epithelial polarity is tumor-suppressive"
Bunker BD, Nellimoottil TT, Boileau RM, Classen AK, Bilder D. The transcriptional response to tumorigenic polarity loss in Drosophila. Elife. 2015 Feb 26;4. PMID: 25719210; PMCID: PMC4369581.
From the abstract: "Loss of polarity correlates with progression of epithelial cancers, but how plasma membrane misorganization drives oncogenic transcriptional events remains unclear. ... RNA profiling of Scrib mutant tumors reveals multiple signatures of neoplasia, including altered metabolism and dedifferentiation. ... We identified a polarity-responsive enhancer in upd3, which is activated in a coincident manner by both JNK-dependent Fos and aPKC-mediated Yki transcription. This enhancer, and Scrib mutant overgrowth in general, are also sensitive to activity of the Polycomb Group (PcG), suggesting that PcG attenuation upon polarity loss potentiates select targets for activation by JNK and Yki. Our results link epithelial organization to signaling and epigenetic regulators that control tissue repair programs, and provide insight into why epithelial polarity is tumor-suppressive."
From the abstract: "Loss of polarity correlates with progression of epithelial cancers, but how plasma membrane misorganization drives oncogenic transcriptional events remains unclear. ... RNA profiling of Scrib mutant tumors reveals multiple signatures of neoplasia, including altered metabolism and dedifferentiation. ... We identified a polarity-responsive enhancer in upd3, which is activated in a coincident manner by both JNK-dependent Fos and aPKC-mediated Yki transcription. This enhancer, and Scrib mutant overgrowth in general, are also sensitive to activity of the Polycomb Group (PcG), suggesting that PcG attenuation upon polarity loss potentiates select targets for activation by JNK and Yki. Our results link epithelial organization to signaling and epigenetic regulators that control tissue repair programs, and provide insight into why epithelial polarity is tumor-suppressive."
Monday, September 28, 2015
No lung? No problem. Invertebrate models in the study of lung infections.
López Hernández Y, Yero D, Pinos-Rodríguez JM, Gibert I. Animals devoid of pulmonary system as infection models in the study of lung bacterial pathogens. Front Microbiol. 2015 Feb 4;6:38. PMID: 25699030; PMCID: PMC4316775.
From the abstract: “… in vivo lung infection models performed to study lung pathologies use to be laborious, demand a great time and commonly are associated with ethical issues. When infections in experimental animals are used, they need to be refined, defined, and validated for their intended purpose. Therefore, alternative and easy to handle models of experimental infections are still needed ... Here, we review the use of … vertebrate and non-vertebrate models in the study of bacterial agents, which are considered the principal causes of lung injury. Curiously none of these animals have a respiratory system as in air-breathing vertebrates, where respiration takes place in lungs. Despite this fact, with the present review we sought to provide elements in favor of the use of these alternative animal models of infection to reveal the molecular signatures of host-pathogen interactions.”
FlyRNAi: RNA-based mitochondrial targeting technique shown ...
FlyRNAi: RNA-based mitochondrial targeting technique shown ...: Towheed A, Markantone DM, Crain AT, Celotto AM, Palladino MJ. Small mitochondrial-targeted RNAs modulate endogenous mitochondrial protein ex...
Cancer & fly models
Reitman ZJ, Sinenko SA, Spana EP, Yan H. Genetic dissection of leukemia-associated IDH1 and IDH2 mutants and D-2-hydroxyglutarate in Drosophila. Blood. 2015 Jan 8;125(2):336-45. PMID: 25398939; PMCID: PMC4287640.
From the abstract: “Gain-of-function mutations in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)1 and IDH2 frequently arise in human leukemias ... We expressed the R195H mutant of Drosophila Idh (CG7176), which is equivalent to the human cancer-associated IDH1-R132H mutant, in fly tissues ... We identified the fly homolog of D-2-hydroxyglutaric acid dehydrogenase (CG3835), which metabolizes D-2HG, and showed that coexpression of this enzyme with mutant Idh abolishes mutant Idh-associated phenotypes. These results provide a flexible model system to interrogate a cancer-related genetic and metabolic pathway ...”
From the abstract: “Gain-of-function mutations in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)1 and IDH2 frequently arise in human leukemias ... We expressed the R195H mutant of Drosophila Idh (CG7176), which is equivalent to the human cancer-associated IDH1-R132H mutant, in fly tissues ... We identified the fly homolog of D-2-hydroxyglutaric acid dehydrogenase (CG3835), which metabolizes D-2HG, and showed that coexpression of this enzyme with mutant Idh abolishes mutant Idh-associated phenotypes. These results provide a flexible model system to interrogate a cancer-related genetic and metabolic pathway ...”
Mitochondrial disease and the heart explored in fly study
Martínez-Morentin L, Martínez L, Piloto S, Yang H, Schon EA, Garesse R, Bodmer R, Ocorr K, Cervera M, Arredondo JJ. Cardiac deficiency of single cytochrome oxidase assembly factor scox induces p53-dependent apoptosis in a Drosophila cardiomyopathy model. Hum Mol Genet. 2015 Jul 1;24(13):3608-22. PMID: 25792727; PMCID: PMC4459388.
From the abstract: “... most patients with mitochondrial disease produced by defects in the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system are susceptible to cardiac involvement. ... but the molecular mechanisms involved in cardiac impairment are unknown. One of the most frequent OXPHOS defects in humans frequently associated with cardiomyopathy is cytochrome c oxidase (COX) deficiency caused by mutations in COX assembly factors such as Sco1 and Sco2. ... we have heart specifically interfered scox expression, the single Drosophila Sco orthologue. Cardiac-specific knockdown of scox reduces fly lifespan, and it severely compromises heart function and structure, producing dilated cardiomyopathy. ... Genetic and molecular evidence strongly suggest that dp53 is directly involved in the development of the cardiomyopathy induced by scox deficiency. Remarkably, apoptosis is enhanced in the muscle and liver of Sco2 knock-out mice, clearly suggesting that cell death is a key feature of the COX deficiencies produced by mutations in Sco genes in humans.”
From the abstract: “... most patients with mitochondrial disease produced by defects in the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system are susceptible to cardiac involvement. ... but the molecular mechanisms involved in cardiac impairment are unknown. One of the most frequent OXPHOS defects in humans frequently associated with cardiomyopathy is cytochrome c oxidase (COX) deficiency caused by mutations in COX assembly factors such as Sco1 and Sco2. ... we have heart specifically interfered scox expression, the single Drosophila Sco orthologue. Cardiac-specific knockdown of scox reduces fly lifespan, and it severely compromises heart function and structure, producing dilated cardiomyopathy. ... Genetic and molecular evidence strongly suggest that dp53 is directly involved in the development of the cardiomyopathy induced by scox deficiency. Remarkably, apoptosis is enhanced in the muscle and liver of Sco2 knock-out mice, clearly suggesting that cell death is a key feature of the COX deficiencies produced by mutations in Sco genes in humans.”
Fly study related to neurodegeneration, epilepsy and DOOR syndrome
Fernandes AC, Uytterhoeven V, Kuenen S, Wang YC, Slabbaert JR, Swerts J, Kasprowicz J, Aerts S, Verstreken P. Reduced synaptic vesicle protein degradation at lysosomes curbs TBC1D24/sky-induced neurodegeneration. J Cell Biol. 2014 Nov 24;207(4):453-62. PMID: 25422373; PMCID: PMC4242831.
From the abstract: “Synaptic demise and accumulation of dysfunctional proteins are thought of as common features in neurodegeneration. ... we study Drosophila melanogaster lacking active TBC1D24/Skywalker (Sky), a protein that in humans causes severe neurodegeneration, epilepsy, and DOOR (deafness, onychdystrophy, osteodystrophy, and mental retardation) syndrome, and identify endosome-to-lysosome trafficking as a mechanism for degradation of synaptic vesicle-associated proteins. ... Our findings ... identify a potential strategy to suppress defects arising from TBC1D24 mutations in humans.”
From the abstract: “Synaptic demise and accumulation of dysfunctional proteins are thought of as common features in neurodegeneration. ... we study Drosophila melanogaster lacking active TBC1D24/Skywalker (Sky), a protein that in humans causes severe neurodegeneration, epilepsy, and DOOR (deafness, onychdystrophy, osteodystrophy, and mental retardation) syndrome, and identify endosome-to-lysosome trafficking as a mechanism for degradation of synaptic vesicle-associated proteins. ... Our findings ... identify a potential strategy to suppress defects arising from TBC1D24 mutations in humans.”
Catching up -- fly studies related to Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease
HD
Besson MT, Alegría K, Garrido-Gerter P, Barros LF, Liévens JC. Enhanced neuronal glucose transporter expression reveals metabolic choice in a HD Drosophila model. PLoS One. 2015 Mar 11;10(3):e0118765. PMID: 25761110; PMCID: PMC4356621.
From the abstract: “... Altered brain glucose metabolism has long been suggested and a possible link has been proposed in HD [Huntingtons Disease]. ... Here, we report the effects of the specifically-neuronal human glucose transporter expression in neurons of a Drosophila model carrying the exon 1 of the human huntingtin gene with 93 glutamine repeats (HQ93). We demonstrated that overexpression of the human glucose transporter in neurons ameliorated significantly the status of HD flies by increasing their lifespan, reducing their locomotor deficits and rescuing eye neurodegeneration. ... To mimic increased glycolytic flux, we overexpressed phosphofructokinase (PFK) which catalyzes an irreversible step in glycolysis. Overexpression of PFK did not affect HQ93 fly survival, but protected from photoreceptor loss. Overexpression of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), the key enzyme of the PPP, extended significantly the lifespan of HD flies and rescued eye neurodegeneration. ... Our study confirms the involvement of bioenergetic deficits in HD ...”
Yao Y, Cui X, Al-Ramahi I, Sun X, Li B, Hou J, Difiglia M, Palacino J, Wu ZY, Ma L, Botas J, Lu B. A striatal-enriched intronic GPCR modulates huntingtin levels and toxicity. Elife. 2015 Mar 4;4. doi: 10.7554/eLife.05449. PubMed PMID: 25738228; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4372774.
From the abstract: “Huntington's disease (HD) ... is mainly caused by cytotoxicity of the mutant huntingtin protein (Htt) with an expanded polyQ stretch. While Htt is ubiquitously expressed, HD is characterized by selective neurodegeneration of the striatum. Here we report a striatal-enriched orphan G protein-coupled receptor(GPCR) Gpr52 as a stabilizer of Htt in vitro and in vivo. ... our discovery reveals modulation of Htt levels by a striatal-enriched GPCR via its GPCR function, providing insights into the selective neurodegeneration and potential treatment strategies.”
AD
Review:
Bouleau S, Tricoire H. Drosophila models of Alzheimer's disease: advances, limits, and perspectives. J Alzheimers Dis. 2015;45(4):1015-38. PMID: 25697708.
Research articles:
Cuesto G, Jordán-Álvarez S, Enriquez-Barreto L, Ferrús A, Morales M, Acebes Á. GSK3β inhibition promotes synaptogenesis in Drosophila and mammalian neurons. PLoS One. 2015 Mar 12;10(3):e0118475. PMID: 25764078; PMCID: PMC4357437.
From the abstract: “... Alzheimer disease's patients exhibit high levels of circulating GSK3β and, consequently, pharmacological strategies based on GSK3β antagonists have been designed. The approach, however, has yielded inconclusive results so far. Here, we carried out a comparative study in Drosophila and rats addressing the role of GSK3β in synaptogenesis. In flies, the genetic inhibition of the shaggy-encoded GSK3β increases the number of synapses, while its upregulation leads to synapse loss. Likewise, in three weeks cultured rat hippocampal neurons, the pharmacological inhibition of GSK3β increases synapse density and Synapsin expression. However, experiments on younger cultures (12 days) yielded an opposite effect, a reduction of synapse density. This unexpected finding seems to unveil an age- and dosage-dependent differential response of mammalian neurons .. a feature that must be considered in the context of ... pharmacological treatments for Alzheimer's disease based on GSK3β antagonists.”
Ping Y, Hahm ET, Waro G, Song Q, Vo-Ba DA, Licursi A, Bao H, Ganoe L, Finch K, Tsunoda S. Linking aβ42-induced hyperexcitability to neurodegeneration, learning and motor deficits, and a shorter lifespan in an Alzheimer's model. PLoS Genet. 2015 Mar 16;11(3):e1005025. PMID: 25774758; PMCID: PMC4361604.
From the abstract: “Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of dementia in the elderly. β-amyloid (Aβ) accumulation in the brain is thought to be a primary event leading to eventual cognitive and motor dysfunction in AD. ... Here, we show that overexpression of human Aβ42 in a Drosophila model indeed induces increased neuronal activity. We found that the underlying mechanism involves the selective degradation of the A-type K+ channel, Kv4. An age-dependent loss of Kv4 leads to an increased probability of AP firing. ... We conclude that Aβ42-induced hyperactivity plays a critical role in the age-dependent cognitive and motor decline of this Aβ42-Drosophila model, and possibly in AD.”
PD
Review:
Vanhauwaert R, Verstreken P. Flies with Parkinson's disease. Exp Neurol. 2015 Feb 20. pii: S0014-4886(15)00043-6. PMID: 25708988.
Research articles:
van der Merwe C, Jalali Sefid Dashti Z, Christoffels A, Loos B, Bardien S. Evidence for a common biological pathway linking three Parkinson's disease-causing genes: parkin, PINK1 and DJ-1. Eur J Neurosci. 2015 May;41(9):1113-25. PMID: 25761903.
From the abstract: “Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterised by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain. Autosomal recessive, early-onset cases of PD are predominantly caused by mutations in the parkin, PINK1 and DJ-1 genes. Animal and cellular models have verified a direct link between parkin and PINK1, whereby PINK1 phosphorylates and activates parkin at the outer mitochondrial membrane, resulting in removal of dysfunctional mitochondria via mitophagy. Despite the overwhelming evidence for this interaction, few studies have been able to identify a link for DJ-1 with parkin or PINK1. The aim of this review is to summarise the functions of these three proteins, and to analyse the existing evidence for direct and indirect interactions between them. ...”
Zhu M, Li X, Tian X, Wu C. Mask loss-of-function rescues mitochondrial impairment and muscle degeneration of Drosophila pink1 and parkin mutants. Hum Mol Genet. 2015 Jun 1;24(11):3272-85. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddv081. Epub 2015 Mar 5. PubMed PMID: 25743185; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4424960.
From the abstract: “PTEN-induced kinase 1 (Pink1) and ubiquitin E3 ligase Parkin function in a linear pathway to maintain healthy mitochondria ... Mutations in the two enzymes cause the familial form of Parkinson's disease (PD) in humans, as well as accumulation of defective mitochondria and cellular degeneration in flies. Here, we show that loss of function of a scaffolding protein Mask, also known as ANKHD1 (Ankyrin repeats and KH domain containing protein 1) in humans, rescues the behavioral, anatomical and cellular defects caused by pink1 or parkin mutations in a cell-autonomous manner. ... Together, our data strongly suggest that Mask/ANKHD1 activity can be inhibited in a tissue- and timely-controlled fashion to restore mitochondrial integrity under PD-linked pathological conditions.”
Friday, September 18, 2015
Monday, September 14, 2015
FlyRNAi: CRISPR + RNAi screening in Drosophila cells points...
FlyRNAi: CRISPR + RNAi screening in Drosophila cells points...: Housden BE, Valvezan AJ, Kelley C, Sopko R, Hu Y, Roesel C, Lin S, Buckner M, Tao R, Yilmazel B, Mohr SE, Manning BD, Perrimon N. Identifica...
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