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Paraquat Induced Dopaminergic Neuronal Loss in Drosophila melanogaster
Author(s) -
Ameel Kristen Noel,
Drobysheva Daria,
Welch Brandon,
Chaichana Khan,
Schmid Aloisia
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.6.lb65-a
Subject(s) - dopaminergic , neuroscience , drosophila melanogaster , substantia nigra , biology , neurodegeneration , paraquat , dopamine , medicine , pathology , disease , genetics , biochemistry , gene
Parkinson’s disease is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorders in the world today and is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons found in the substantia nigra of the brain. We are developing a model of human idiopathic Parkinson’s disease in Drosophila , with the aim of using that model in genetic screens that we hope will elucidate the pathological and cellular mechanisms responsible for dopaminergic neuronal losses. We and others have attempted to quantify the dopaminergic neuronal losses in Drosophila brains and were frustrated by the highly variable results we obtained using all reported dopaminergic histological protocols. We compared all published protocols and systematically tested each of the observed procedural differences: gender of the specimen brain, choice of fix, method of fixative penetration, and method of embedding and sectioning. Standard primary and secondary antibodies were used on all treatment groups. The best fixation method, using Irina’s fix, microwaving with vacuum penetration, and agarose embedding will next be used to test dopaminergic losses in flies treated with paraquat. Paraquat is a known toxin that causes dopaminergic neuronal losses in vertebrates. We have observed that treating flies with paraquat causes Parkinsonian behaviors, including a marked dyskinesia, rigidity in limbs and tremor. We are in the process of correlating those behavioral defects with dopaminergic neuronal histology.