Fly study relevant to Menkes and Wilson diseases

Hwang JE, de Bruyne M, Warr CG, Burke R. Copper overload and deficiency both adversely affect the central nervous system of Drosophila. Metallomics. 2014 Oct 17. PMID: 25322772.

From the abstract: "The human copper homeostasis disorders Menkes and Wilson disease both have severe neurological symptoms. Menkes is a copper deficiency disorder whereas Wilson disease patients suffer from copper toxicity, indicating that tight control of neuronal copper levels is essential for proper nervous system development and function. Here we examine the consequences of neuronal copper deficiency and excess in the Drosophila melanogaster nervous system, using targeted manipulation of the copper uptake genes Ctr1A and Ctr1B and efflux gene ATP7 in combination with altered dietary copper levels. ... We conclude that both copper overload and excess have detrimental effects on Drosophila neuronal function, reducing overall fly viability as well as impacting on a specific neuropeptide pathway."

Review relevant to Dscam proteins and Down's syndrome

Montesinos ML. Roles for DSCAM and DSCAML1 in central nervous system development and disease. Adv Neurobiol. 2014;8:249-70. PMID: 25300140.

From the abstract: "... In Drosophila, Dscam proteins are involved in neuronal wiring, while in vertebrates, the role of these cell adhesion molecules in neurogenesis, dendritogenesis, axonal outgrowth, synaptogenesis, and synaptic plasticity is only just beginning to be understood. In this chapter, we will review the functions ascribed to the two paralogous proteins found in humans, DSCAM and DSCAML1 (DSCAM-like 1), based on findings in knockout mice. The signaling pathways downstream of DSCAM activation and the role of DSCAM miss-expression in disease will be also discussed, particularly with regard to the intellectual disability in Down's syndrome."

FlyRNAi: Genome-wide RNAi screen related to Parkinson's dis...

FlyRNAi: Genome-wide RNAi screen related to Parkinson's dis...: Ivatt RM, Sanchez-Martinez A, Godena VK, Brown S, Ziviani E, Whitworth AJ. Genome-wide RNAi screen identifies the Parkinson disease GWAS ris...

Review -- fly models of ALS

Casci I, Pandey UB. A fruitful endeavor: Modeling ALS in the fruit fly. Brain Res. 2014 Oct 4. pii: S0006-8993(14)01337-7. PMID: 25289585.

From the abstract: "... Several Drosophila models have now been developed for studying the roles of ALS-associated genes in disease pathogenesis that allowed us to understand the molecular pathways that lead to motor neuron degeneration in ALS patients. Our primary goal in this review is to highlight the lessons we have learned using Drosophila models pertaining to ALS research."

Specific mutations in VPS35 associated with Parkinson's disease tested in flies

Wang HS, Toh J, Ho P, Tio M, Zhao Y, Tan EK. In vivo evidence of pathogenicity of VPS35 mutations in the Drosophila. Mol Brain. 2014 Oct 8;7(1):73. PMID: 25288323.

miRNA study using fly model of Alzheimer's diesase

Kong Y, Wu J, Yuan L. MicroRNA Expression Analysis of Adult-onset Drosophila Alzheimer's Disease Model. Curr Alzheimer Res. 2014 Oct 1. PMID: 25274109.

FlyRNAi: Drosophila cell-based genome-wide screen related t...

FlyRNAi: Drosophila cell-based genome-wide screen related t...: Ivatt RM, Sanchez-Martinez A, Godena VK, Brown S, Ziviani E, Whitworth AJ. Genome-wide RNAi screen identifies the Parkinson disease GWAS ri...