Drosophila as a screening tool to study human neurodegenerative diseases

In an aging society, research involving neurodegenerative disorders is of paramount importance. Over the past few years, research on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases has made tremendous progress. Experimental studies, however, rely mostly on transgenic animal models, preferentially using mice. Although experiments on mice have enormous advantages, they also have some inherent limitations, some of which can be overcome by the use of Drosophila melanogaster as an experimental animal. Among the major advantages of using the fly is its small genome, which can also be modified very easily. The fact that its genome lends itself to diverse alterations (e. g. mutagenesis, transposons) has made the fly a useful organism to perform large-scale and genome-wide screening approaches. This has opened up an entirely new field of experimental research aiming to elucidate genetic interactions and screen for modifiers of disease processes in vivo. Here, we provide a brief overview of how flies can be used to analyze molecular mechanisms underlying human neurodegenerative diseases.

TRAP1 rescues PINK1 loss-of-function phenotypes

PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) is a serine/threonine kinase that is localized to mitochondria. It protects cells from oxidative stress by suppressing mitochondrial cytochrome c release, thereby preventing cell death. Mutations in Pink1 cause early-onset Parkinson's disease (PD). Consistently, mitochondrial function is impaired in Pink1-linked PD patients and model systems. Previously, in vitro analysis implied that the protective effects of PINK1 depend on phosphorylation of the downstream factor, TNF receptor-associated protein 1 (TRAP1). Furthermore, TRAP1 has been shown to mitigate α-Synuclein-induced toxicity, linking α-Synuclein directly to mitochondrial dysfunction. These data suggest that TRAP1 seems to mediate protective effects on mitochondrial function in pathways that are affected in PD. Here we investigated the potential of TRAP1 to rescue dysfunction induced by either PINK1 or Parkin deficiency in vivo and in vitro. We show that overexpression of human TRAP1 is able to mitigate Pink1 but not parkin loss-of-function phenotypes in Drosophila. In addition, detrimental effects observed after RNAi-mediated silencing of complex I subunits were rescued by TRAP1 in Drosophila. Moreover, TRAP1 was able to rescue mitochondrial fragmentation and dysfunction upon siRNA-induced silencing of Pink1 but not parkin in human neuronal SH-SY5Y cells. Thus, our data suggest a functional role of TRAP1 in maintaining mitochondrial integrity downstream of PINK1 and complex I deficits but parallel to or upstream of Parkin.

Large-scale screen for modifiers of ataxin-3-derived polyglutamine-induced toxicity in Drosophila

Polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases represent a neuropathologically heterogeneous group of disorders. The common theme of these disorders is an elongated polyQ tract in otherwise unrelated proteins. So far, only symptomatic treatment can be applied to patients suffering from polyQ diseases. Despite extensive research, the molecular mechanisms underlying polyQ-induced toxicity are largely unknown. To gain insight into polyQ pathology, we performed a large-scale RNAi screen in Drosophila to identify modifiers of toxicity induced by expression of truncated Ataxin-3 containing a disease-causing polyQ expansion. We identified various unknown modifiers of polyQ toxicity. Large-scale analysis indicated a dissociation of polyQ aggregation and toxicity.

The mitochondrial chaperone protein TRAP1 mitigates α-Synuclein toxicity

Overexpression or mutation of α-Synuclein is associated with protein aggregation and interferes with a number of cellular processes, including mitochondrial integrity and function. We used a whole-genome screen in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to search for novel genetic modifiers of human [A53T]α-Synuclein-induced neurotoxicity. Decreased expression of the mitochondrial chaperone protein tumor necrosis factor receptor associated protein-1 (TRAP1) was found to enhance age-dependent loss of fly head dopamine (DA) and DA neuron number resulting from [A53T]α-Synuclein expression. In addition, decreased TRAP1 expression in [A53T]α-Synuclein-expressing flies resulted in enhanced loss of climbing ability and sensitivity to oxidative stress. Overexpression of human TRAP1 was able to rescue these phenotypes. Similarly, human TRAP1 overexpression in rat primary cortical neurons rescued [A53T]α-Synuclein-induced sensitivity to rotenone treatment. In human (non)neuronal cell lines, small interfering RNA directed against TRAP1 enhanced [A53T]α-Synuclein-induced sensitivity to oxidative stress treatment. [A53T]α-Synuclein directly interfered with mitochondrial function, as its expression reduced Complex I activity in HEK293 cells. These effects were blocked by TRAP1 overexpression. Moreover, TRAP1 was able to prevent alteration in mitochondrial morphology caused by [A53T]α-Synuclein overexpression in human SH-SY5Y cells. These results indicate that [A53T]α-Synuclein toxicity is intimately connected to mitochondrial dysfunction and that toxicity reduction in fly and rat primary neurons and human cell lines can be achieved using overexpression of the mitochondrial chaperone TRAP1. Interestingly, TRAP1 has previously been shown to be phosphorylated by the serine/threonine kinase PINK1, thus providing a potential link of PINK1 via TRAP1 to α-Synuclein.

TDP-43-mediated neuron loss in vivo requires RNA-binding activity

Alteration and/or mutations of the ribonucleoprotein TDP-43 have been firmly linked to human neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). The relative impacts of TDP-43 alteration, mutation, or inherent protein function on neural integrity, however, remain less clear—a situation confounded by conflicting reports based on transient and/or random-insertion transgenic expression. We therefore performed a stringent comparative investigation of impacts of these TDP-43 modifications on neural integrity in vivo. To achieve this, we systematically screened ALS/FTLD-associated and synthetic TDP-43 isoforms via same-site gene insertion and neural expression in Drosophila; followed by transposon-based motor neuron-specific transgenesis in a chick vertebrate system. Using this bi-systemic approach we uncovered a requirement of inherent TDP-43 RNA-binding function—but not ALS/FTLD-linked mutation, mislocalization, or truncation—for TDP-43-mediated neurotoxicity in vivo.

Mutational analysis reveals separable DNA binding and trans-activation of Drosophila STAT92E

In the canonical model of JAK/STAT signalling STAT transcription factors are activated by JAK mediated tyrosine phosphorylation following pathway stimulation by external cytokines. Activated STAT molecules then homo- or heterodimerise before translocating to the nucleus where they bind to DNA sequences within the promoters of pathway target genes. DNA-bound STAT dimers then activate transcription of their targets via interaction with components of the basal transcription machinery. Here we describe a missense mutation in the SH2 domain of the single Drosophila STAT92E homologue which results in an amino-acid substitution conserved in both the canonical SH2 domain and STAT-like molecules previously identified in C. elegans and the mosquito Anopheles gambiae. This mutation leads to nuclear accumulation and constitutive DNA binding of Drosophila STAT92E even in the absence of JAK stimulation. Strikingly, this mutant shows only limited transcriptional activity in tissue culture based assays and functions as a dominant-negative at both the phenotypic and molecular levels in vivo. These features represent aspects of both dominant gain-of-function and dominant-negative activities and imply that the functions of DNA binding can be functionally separated from the role of STAT92E as a transcriptional activator. It is thus possible that an alternative post-translational modification, in addition to tyrosine phosphorylation, may be required to allow STAT to act as a transcriptional activator and suggests the existence of an alternative mechanism by which STAT transcriptional activity may be regulated in vivo.

Synthesis, structure, properties, and phosphatase-like activity of the first heterodinuclear Fe(III)Mn(II) complex with the unsymmetric ligand H(2)BPBPMP as a model for the PAP in sweet potato

The new heterodinuclear mixed valence complex [Fe(III)Mn(II)(BPBPMP)(OAc)(2)]ClO(4) (1) with the unsymmetrical N(5)O(2) donor ligand 2-bis[((2-pyridylmethyl)-aminomethyl)-6-((2-hydroxybenzyl)(2-pyridylmethyl))-aminomethyl]-4-methylphenol (H(2)BPBPMP) has been synthesized and characterized. Compound 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group P2(1)/c, and has an Fe(III)Mn(II)(mu-phenoxo)-bis(mu-carboxylato) core. Two quasireversible electron transfers at -870 and +440 mV versus Fc/Fc(+) corresponding to the Fe(II)Mn(II)/Fe(III)Mn(II) and Fe(III)Mn(II)/Fe(III)Mn(III) couples, respectively, appear in the cyclic voltammogram. The dinuclear Fe(III)Mn(II) center has weakly antiferromagnetic coupling with J = -6.8 cm(-1) and g = 1.93. The (57)Fe Mössbauer spectrum exhibits a single doublet, delta = 0.48 mm s(-1) and DeltaE(Q) = 1.04 mm s(-1) for the high spin Fe(III) ion. Phosphatase-like activity at pH 6.7 with the substrate 2,4-bis(dinitrophenyl)phosphate reveals saturation kinetics with the following Michaelis-Menten constants: K(m) = 2.103 mM, V(max) = 1.803 x 10(-5) mM s(-1), and k(cat) = 4.51 x 10(-4) s(-1).

Cloning and expression of Drosophila SOCS36E and its potential regulation by the JAK/STAT pathway

The suppressor of cytokine signalling (SOCS) gene family was originally identified as an immediate early response to cytokine signalling and function as negative regulators of the Janus kinase (JAK)/signal tranducers and activators of transcription (STAT) signal transduction pathway [Krebs and Hilton, J. Cell Sci. 113 (2000) 2813; Starr and Hilton, Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol. 30 (1998) 1081]. Although key components of the Drosophila JAK/STAT pathway have been identified [Brown et al., Curr. Biol. 11 (2001) 1700, reviewed in Zeidler et al., Oncogene 19 (2000) 2598], regulators of the pathway, and SOCS genes in particular, have not yet been characterised. Here we report the cloning of Drosophila SOCS36E and show its expression pattern during embryonic and imaginal disc development. SOCS36E is expressed in an essentially identical pattern to the Drosophila JAK/STAT pathway ligand unpaired (Upd). It is not expressed in upd mutant embryos and is upregulated in response to ectopic activation of the pathway during both embryonic and imaginal development.