Sudmeier LJ, Howard SP, Ganetzky B. A Drosophila model to investigate the neurotoxic side effects of radiation exposure. Dis Model Mech. 2015 Jul 1;8(7):669-77. doi: 10.1242/dmm.019786. PMID: 26092528.
From the abstract: "Children undergoing cranial radiation therapy (CRT) for pediatric central nervous system malignancies are at increased risk for neurological deficits later in life. We have developed a model of neurotoxic damage in adult Drosophila following irradiation during the juvenile stages with the goal of elucidating underlying neuropathological mechanisms and of ultimately identifying potential therapeutic targets. ... This work demonstrates the usefulness of Drosophila to model the toxic effects of radiation during development, and has the potential to unravel underlying mechanisms and to facilitate the discovery of novel therapeutic interventions."
Monday, June 22, 2015
New fly model related to myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1)
Bargiela A, Cerro-Herreros E, Fernandez-Costa JM, Vilchez JJ, Llamusi B, Artero R. Increased autophagy and apoptosis contribute to muscle atrophy in a myotonic dystrophy type 1 Drosophila model. Dis Model Mech. 2015 Jul 1;8(7):679-90. PMID: 26092529.
From the abstract: "Muscle mass wasting is one of the most debilitating symptoms of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) disease, ultimately leading to immobility, respiratory defects, dysarthria, dysphagia and death in advanced stages of the disease. In order to study the molecular mechanisms leading to the degenerative loss of adult muscle tissue in DM1, we generated an inducible Drosophila model of expanded CTG trinucleotide repeat toxicity that resembles an adult-onset form of the disease. ... results were validated in skeletal muscle biopsies from DM1 patients ... and also in DM1 myoblasts ... These findings provide new insights into the signaling pathways involved in DM1 disease pathogenesis."
From the abstract: "Muscle mass wasting is one of the most debilitating symptoms of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) disease, ultimately leading to immobility, respiratory defects, dysarthria, dysphagia and death in advanced stages of the disease. In order to study the molecular mechanisms leading to the degenerative loss of adult muscle tissue in DM1, we generated an inducible Drosophila model of expanded CTG trinucleotide repeat toxicity that resembles an adult-onset form of the disease. ... results were validated in skeletal muscle biopsies from DM1 patients ... and also in DM1 myoblasts ... These findings provide new insights into the signaling pathways involved in DM1 disease pathogenesis."
Alzheimer's Disease and Polyphenols--review summarizes results from fly models
Jimenez-Del-Rio M, Velez-Pardo C. Alzheimer's Disease, Drosophila melanogaster and Polyphenols. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2015;863:21-53. PubMed PMID: 26092625.
From the abstract: "Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an insidious neurological disorder that affects memory, one of the human brain's main cognitive functions. Around 5.2 million Americans currently have AD, and the number threatens to climb to 7 million by 2020. Our native country, Colombia, is no exception with an estimated 260,000 individuals to be affected by AD in 2020. ... Drosophila melanogaster is increasingly being used as a valid in vivo model of AD. Here, we summarise data published within the past 16 years (1998-2014) on the molecular biology of AD and the use of polyphenols in the fly to understand the molecular actions and feasibility of these compounds in the treatment of AD."
From the abstract: "Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an insidious neurological disorder that affects memory, one of the human brain's main cognitive functions. Around 5.2 million Americans currently have AD, and the number threatens to climb to 7 million by 2020. Our native country, Colombia, is no exception with an estimated 260,000 individuals to be affected by AD in 2020. ... Drosophila melanogaster is increasingly being used as a valid in vivo model of AD. Here, we summarise data published within the past 16 years (1998-2014) on the molecular biology of AD and the use of polyphenols in the fly to understand the molecular actions and feasibility of these compounds in the treatment of AD."
Friday, June 19, 2015
Using SOS1 to neutralize KRAS -- fly studies contribute to characterization of new potential cancer therapeutic strategy
Leshchiner ES, Parkhitko A, Bird GH, Luccarelli J, Bellairs JA, Escudero S, Opoku-Nsiah K, Godes M, Perrimon N, Walensky LD. Direct inhibition of oncogenic KRAS by hydrocarbon-stapled SOS1 helices. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Feb 10;112(6):1761-6. PMID: 25624485; PMCID: PMC4330742.
From the abstract: "Activating mutations in the Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) underlie the pathogenesis and chemoresistance of ∼ 30% of all human tumors, yet the development of high-affinity inhibitors that target the broad range of KRAS mutants remains a formidable challenge. Here, we report the development and validation of stabilized alpha helices of son of sevenless 1 (SAH-SOS1) as prototype therapeutics that directly inhibit wild-type and mutant forms of KRAS. ... The mechanism of action of SAH-SOS1 peptides was demonstrated by sequence-specific down-regulation of the ERK-MAP kinase phosphosignaling cascade in KRAS-driven cancer cells and in a Drosophila melanogaster model of Ras85D(V12) activation. These studies provide evidence for the potential utility of SAH-SOS1 peptides in neutralizing oncogenic KRAS in human cancer."
From the abstract: "Activating mutations in the Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) underlie the pathogenesis and chemoresistance of ∼ 30% of all human tumors, yet the development of high-affinity inhibitors that target the broad range of KRAS mutants remains a formidable challenge. Here, we report the development and validation of stabilized alpha helices of son of sevenless 1 (SAH-SOS1) as prototype therapeutics that directly inhibit wild-type and mutant forms of KRAS. ... The mechanism of action of SAH-SOS1 peptides was demonstrated by sequence-specific down-regulation of the ERK-MAP kinase phosphosignaling cascade in KRAS-driven cancer cells and in a Drosophila melanogaster model of Ras85D(V12) activation. These studies provide evidence for the potential utility of SAH-SOS1 peptides in neutralizing oncogenic KRAS in human cancer."
Vinculin involvement in regulation of heart function during aging
Kaushik G, Spenlehauer A, Sessions AO, Trujillo AS, Fuhrmann A, Fu Z, Venkatraman V, Pohl D, Tuler J, Wang M, Lakatta EG, Ocorr K, Bodmer R, Bernstein SI, Van Eyk JE, Cammarato A, Engler AJ. Vinculin network-mediated cytoskeletal remodeling regulates contractile function in the aging heart. Sci Transl Med. 2015 Jun 17;7(292):292ra99. PMID: 26084806.
From the abstract: "The human heart is capable of functioning for decades despite minimal cell turnover or regeneration, suggesting that molecular alterations help sustain heart function with age. However, identification of compensatory remodeling events in the aging heart remains elusive. We present the cardiac proteomes of young and old rhesus monkeys and rats, from which we show that certain age-associated remodeling events within the cardiomyocyte cytoskeleton are highly conserved and beneficial rather than deleterious. Targeted transcriptomic analysis in Drosophila confirmed conservation and implicated vinculin as a unique molecular regulator of cardiac function during aging. ... Moreover, cardiac-specific vinculin overexpression increased median life span by more than 150% in flies. ... These findings suggest that the heart has molecular mechanisms to sustain performance and promote longevity, which may be assisted by therapeutic intervention to ameliorate the decline of function in aging patient hearts."
From the abstract: "The human heart is capable of functioning for decades despite minimal cell turnover or regeneration, suggesting that molecular alterations help sustain heart function with age. However, identification of compensatory remodeling events in the aging heart remains elusive. We present the cardiac proteomes of young and old rhesus monkeys and rats, from which we show that certain age-associated remodeling events within the cardiomyocyte cytoskeleton are highly conserved and beneficial rather than deleterious. Targeted transcriptomic analysis in Drosophila confirmed conservation and implicated vinculin as a unique molecular regulator of cardiac function during aging. ... Moreover, cardiac-specific vinculin overexpression increased median life span by more than 150% in flies. ... These findings suggest that the heart has molecular mechanisms to sustain performance and promote longevity, which may be assisted by therapeutic intervention to ameliorate the decline of function in aging patient hearts."
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Automated fly climbing assay used to uncover loci with links to A-beta-42
Liu H, Han M, Li Q, Zhang X, Wang WA, Huang F. Automated rapid iterative negative geotaxis assay and its use in a genetic screen for modifiers of Aβ(42)-induced locomotor decline in Drosophila. Neurosci Bull. 2015 Jun 15. PMID: 26077703.
From the abstract: "The negative-geotaxis climbing assay is used to efficiently study aging and neurodegeneration in Drosophila. To make it suitable for large-scale study, a method ... has been established by simultaneously photographing the climbing of multiple groups of flies when they are manually tapped down in test tubes. Here, we automated the assay by using a well-controlled electric motor to drive the tapping, and a homemade program to analyze the climbing height of flies. ... we examined the effect of third chromosome deficiencies on the accelerated locomotor decline in Aβ42-expressing flies, and isolated 7 suppressors and 15 enhancers."
From the abstract: "The negative-geotaxis climbing assay is used to efficiently study aging and neurodegeneration in Drosophila. To make it suitable for large-scale study, a method ... has been established by simultaneously photographing the climbing of multiple groups of flies when they are manually tapped down in test tubes. Here, we automated the assay by using a well-controlled electric motor to drive the tapping, and a homemade program to analyze the climbing height of flies. ... we examined the effect of third chromosome deficiencies on the accelerated locomotor decline in Aβ42-expressing flies, and isolated 7 suppressors and 15 enhancers."
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Fly study results suggest limitations to usefulness of a potential treatment for mitochondrial disorders
Kemppainen KK, Kemppainen E, Jacobs HT. The alternative oxidase AOX does not rescue the phenotype of tko25t mutant flies. G3 (Bethesda). 2014 Aug 21;4(10):2013-21. PMID: 25147191; PMCID: PMC4199707.
From the abstract: "A point mutation [technical knockout(25t) (tko(25t))] in the Drosophila gene coding for mitoribosomal protein S12 generates a phenotype of developmental delay and bang sensitivity. tko(25t) has been intensively studied as an animal model for human mitochondrial diseases ... Transgenic expression in Drosophila of the alternative oxidase (AOX) derived from Ciona intestinalis has previously been shown to mitigate the toxicity of respiratory chain inhibitors and to rescue mutant and knockdown phenotypes ... We therefore tested whether AOX expression could compensate the mutant phenotype of tko(25t) ... We conclude that AOX does not rescue tko(25t) and that the mutant phenotype is not solely due to limitations on electron flow in the respiratory chain, but rather to a more complex metabolic defect. The future therapeutic use of AOX in disorders of mitochondrial translation may thus be of limited value."
From the abstract: "A point mutation [technical knockout(25t) (tko(25t))] in the Drosophila gene coding for mitoribosomal protein S12 generates a phenotype of developmental delay and bang sensitivity. tko(25t) has been intensively studied as an animal model for human mitochondrial diseases ... Transgenic expression in Drosophila of the alternative oxidase (AOX) derived from Ciona intestinalis has previously been shown to mitigate the toxicity of respiratory chain inhibitors and to rescue mutant and knockdown phenotypes ... We therefore tested whether AOX expression could compensate the mutant phenotype of tko(25t) ... We conclude that AOX does not rescue tko(25t) and that the mutant phenotype is not solely due to limitations on electron flow in the respiratory chain, but rather to a more complex metabolic defect. The future therapeutic use of AOX in disorders of mitochondrial translation may thus be of limited value."
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