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Abstract
Animal models of cancer have been instrumental in advancing our understanding of the biology of tumor initiation and progression, in studying gene function and in performing preclinical studies aimed at testing novel therapies. Several animal models of the MEN1 syndrome have been generated in different organisms by introducing loss-of-function mutations in the orthologues of the human MEN1 gene. In this review, we will discuss MEN1 and MEN1-like models in Drosophila, mice and rats. These model systems with their specific advantages and limitations have contributed to elucidate the function of Menin in tumorigenesis, which turned out to be remarkably conserved from flies to mammals, as well as the biology of the disease. Mouse models of MEN1 closely resemble the human disease in terms of tumor spectrum and associated hormonal changes, although individual tumor frequencies are variable. Rats affected by the MENX (MEN1-like) syndrome share some features with MEN1 patients albeit they bear a germline mutation in Cdkn1b (p27) and not in Men1 Both Men1-knockout mice and MENX rats have been exploited for therapy-response studies testing novel drugs for efficacy against neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and have provided promising leads for novel therapies. In addition to presenting well-established models of MEN1, we also discuss potential models which, if implemented, might broaden even further our knowledge of neuroendocrine tumorigenesis. In the future, patient-derived xenografts in zebrafish or mice might allow us to expand the tool-box currently available for preclinical studies of MEN1-associated tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hermine Mohr
- Institute for Diabetes and CancerHelmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Natalia S Pellegata
- Institute for Diabetes and CancerHelmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany
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2
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Drosophila melanogaster “a potential model organism” for identification of pharmacological properties of plants/plant-derived components. Biomed Pharmacother 2017; 89:1331-1345. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2017.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2016] [Revised: 02/09/2017] [Accepted: 03/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
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Todorović D, Perić-Mataruga V, Mirčić D, Ristić-Djurović J, Prolić Z, Petković B, Savić T. Estimation of changes in fitness components and antioxidant defense of Drosophila subobscura (Insecta, Diptera) after exposure to 2.4 T strong static magnetic field. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2015; 22:5305-5314. [PMID: 25475617 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-014-3910-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2014] [Accepted: 11/24/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
As an ecological factor, a magnetic field can affect insects causing a wide range of responses. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the fitness components (postembryonic development and viability of individuals) and the antioxidant defense (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and total glutathione) in laboratory strains of Drosophila subobscura, originating from oak and beech forests after exposure to the strong static magnet (2.4 T, VINCY Cyclotron magnet). The first instar larvae were placed near the north pole (N group) or the south pole (S group) of the magnet for 2 h. Oak and beech populations of D. subobscura had longer development time and lower viability in N and S groups compared to controls. These differences were significant only in S group of oak population and in N group of beech population. Total glutathione content was significantly decreased in both exposed groups of oak population, while catalase activity was significantly increased in both exposed groups of beech population. Being significantly decreased in both exposed groups of oak population and significantly increased in S group of beech population in comparison to controls, superoxide dismutase activity was observed in different values. According to the results, it can be stated that applied static magnetic field could be considered a potential stressor influencing the fitness components and antioxidant defense in Drosophila flies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dajana Todorović
- Institute for Biological Research, University of Belgrade, 142 Despota Stefana Blvd., Belgrade, 11060, Serbia,
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Smith WW, Thomas J, Liu J, Li T, Moran TH. From fat fruit fly to human obesity. Physiol Behav 2014; 136:15-21. [PMID: 24508822 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2013] [Revised: 01/13/2014] [Accepted: 01/27/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease that has become a global problem. Although a tremendous amount of effort has been spent to prevent and treat obesity, its etiology is still largely unknown and there are not yet sufficient strategies to control obesity. Recently, the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has become a useful model for studying metabolic homeostasis and obesity related disorders. The goal of this mini-review is to summarize the recent achievements of Drosophila models and to highlight the experimental protocols used in studying feeding behavior and energy homeostasis in the fly. The Drosophila models provide useful tools to understand obesity pathogenesis and to develop novel therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanli W Smith
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
| | - Joseph Thomas
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Jingnan Liu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Tianxia Li
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Timothy H Moran
- Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
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5
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Xing X, Zhang C, Li N, Zhai L, Zhu Y, Yang X, Xu P. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the adult Drosophila melanogaster proteome. Proteomics 2014; 14:286-290. [PMID: 24259522 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.201300121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2013] [Revised: 10/17/2013] [Accepted: 11/11/2013] [Indexed: 01/22/2024]
Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster is one of the most widely used model organisms in life sciences. Mapping its proteome is of great significance for understanding the biological characteristics and tissue functions of this species. However, the comprehensive coverage of its proteome remains a challenge. Here, we describe a high-coverage analysis of whole fly through a 1D gel electrophoresis and LC-MS/MS approach. By combining the datasets of two types of SDS-PAGE and two kinds of tagmata, the high-coverage analysis resulted in the identification of 5262 genes, which correspond to 38.23% of the entire coding genes. Moreover, we found that the fly head and body have different molecular weight distributions of their proteomes when the proteins were resolved with SDS-PAGE and image analysis of the stained gel. This phenomenon was further confirmed by both label-free and isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation-based quantitative approaches. The consistent results of the two different quantitation methods also demonstrated the stability and accuracy of the LC-MS/MS platform. The MS proteomics data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange with identifiers PXD000454 and PXD000455 (http://proteomecentral.proteomexchange.org/dataset/PXD000454; (http://proteomecentral.proteomexchange.org/dataset/PXD000455).
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohua Xing
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, National Engineering Research Center for Protein Drugs, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences Beijing, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, P. R. China; College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, P. R. China
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6
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Hiruta C, Toyota K, Miyakawa H, Ogino Y, Miyagawa S, Tatarazako N, Shaw JR, Iguchi T. Development of a microinjection system for RNA interference in the water flea Daphnia pulex. BMC Biotechnol 2013; 13:96. [PMID: 24188141 PMCID: PMC4228505 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6750-13-96] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2013] [Accepted: 10/31/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The ubiquitous, freshwater microcrustacean Daphnia pulex provides a model system for both human health research and monitoring ecosystem integrity. It is the first crustacean to have a well annotated, reference genome assembly that revealed an unusually high gene count highlighted by a large gene orphanage,-i.e., previously uncharacterized genes. Daphnia are capable of either clonal or sexual reproduction, making them ideally suited for genetic manipulation, but the establishment of gene manipulation techniques is needed to accurately define gene functions. Although previous investigations developed an RNA interference (RNAi) system for one congener D. magna, these methods are not appropriate for D. pulex because of the smaller size of their early embryos. In these studies, we develop RNAi techniques for D. pulex by first determining the optimum culture conditions of their isolated embryos and then applying these conditions to the development of microinjection techniques and proof-of-principle RNAi experiments. Results We found that isolated embryos were best cultured on a 2% agar plate bathed in 60 mM sucrose dissolved in M4 media, providing optimal conditions for microinjections. Then, we injected double-stranded (ds)RNA specific to the Distal-less gene (Dll), which is a homeobox transcription factor essential for limb development in invertebrates and vertebrates. Injected embryos presented with defects in the second antenna and appendage development, and dsRNA induced the degradation of Dll mRNAs, indicating that this technique successfully inhibited transcription of the target gene. Conclusions We developed a microinjection system for RNAi studies in D. pulex. These techniques add to the growing genomic toolbox and enhance the genetic tractability of this important model for environmental, evolutionary, and developmental genomics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Taisen Iguchi
- Okazaki Institute for Integrative Bioscience, National Institute for Basic Biology, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, 5-1 Higashiyama, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan.
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Xu P, Tan H, Duong DM, Yang Y, Kupsco J, Moberg KH, Li H, Jin P, Peng J. Stable isotope labeling with amino acids in Drosophila for quantifying proteins and modifications. J Proteome Res 2012; 11:4403-12. [PMID: 22830426 DOI: 10.1021/pr300613c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster is a common animal model for genetics studies, and quantitative proteomics studies of the fly are emerging. Here, we present in detail the development of a procedure to incorporate stable isotope-labeled amino acids into the fly proteome. In the method of stable isotope labeling with amino acids in Drosophila melanogaster (SILAC fly), flies were fed with SILAC-labeled yeast grown with modified media, enabling near complete labeling in a single generation. Biological variation in the proteome among individual flies was evaluated in a series of null experiments. We further applied the SILAC fly method to profile proteins from a model of fragile X syndrome, the most common cause of inherited mental retardation in human. The analysis identified a number of altered proteins in the disease model, including actin-binding protein profilin and microtubulin-associated protein futsch. The change of both proteins was validated by immunoblotting analysis. Moreover, we extended the SILAC fly strategy to study the dynamics of protein ubiquitination during the fly life span (from day 1 to day 30), by measuring the level of ubiquitin along with two major polyubiquitin chains (K48 and K63 linkages). The results show that the abundance of protein ubiquitination and the two major linkages do not change significantly within the measured age range. Together, the data demonstrate the application of the SILAC principle in D. melanogaster, facilitating the integration of powerful fly genomics with emerging proteomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Xu
- Department of Human Genetics, Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
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Veraksa A. When peptides fly: advances in Drosophila proteomics. J Proteomics 2010; 73:2158-70. [PMID: 20580952 DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2010.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2010] [Accepted: 05/11/2010] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
In the past decade, improvements in genome annotation, protein fractionation methods and mass spectrometry instrumentation resulted in rapid growth of Drosophila proteomics. This review presents the current status of proteomics research in the fly. Areas that have seen major advances in recent years include efforts to map and catalog the Drosophila proteome and high-throughput as well as targeted studies to analyze protein-protein interactions and post-translational modifications. Stable isotope labeling of flies and other applications of quantitative proteomics have opened up new possibilities for functional analyses. It is clear that proteomics is becoming an indispensable tool in Drosophila systems biology research that adds a unique dimension to studying gene function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexey Veraksa
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125, USA.
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9
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Abstract
In this review, the utility of Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism for research in metabolism will be demonstrated. Importantly, many metabolic pathways are conserved in both man and the fly. Recent work has highlighted that these conserved molecular pathways have the potential to give rise to similar phenotypes. For example, it has proven possible to generate obese and diabetic Drosophila; conversely, genetic manipulation can also generate lean and hypoglycemic phenotypes. From conserved circulating hormones to key enzymes, the fly is host to a variety of homologous, metabolically active signaling mechanisms. The world of Drosophila research has not only a rich history of developing techniques for exquisite genetic manipulation, but also continues to develop genetic methodologies at an exciting rate. Many of these techniques add to the cadre of experimental tools available for the use of the fly as a model organism for studying carbohydrate and lipid homeostasis. This review is written for the pediatric-scientist with little background in Drosophila, with the goal of relaying the potential of this model organism for contributing to a better understanding of diseases affecting today's children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamal N Bharucha
- Department of Pediatrics and Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA.
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Wolf MJ, Rockman HA. Drosophila melanogaster as a model system for genetics of postnatal cardiac function. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008; 5:117-123. [PMID: 19802348 DOI: 10.1016/j.ddmod.2009.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is an excellent model system that has a vast set of molecular tools and mutants to dissect the genetic pathways that are responsible for the normal and abnormal cardiac function. While the majority of studies have focused on heart development in the Drosophila embryo, attention has recently focused on the structure and function of the adult fly heart as a model of human heart failure. Here we review strategies to identify novel genes and pathways that cause or modify dilated cardiomyopathy in adult Drosophila.
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Gregory TR, Johnston JS. Genome size diversity in the family Drosophilidae. Heredity (Edinb) 2008; 101:228-38. [DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2008.49] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
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12
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Perrimon N, Mathey-Prevot B. Applications of high-throughput RNA interference screens to problems in cell and developmental biology. Genetics 2007; 175:7-16. [PMID: 17244760 PMCID: PMC1775003 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.106.069963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA interference (RNAi) in tissue culture cells has emerged as an excellent methodology for identifying gene functions systematically and in an unbiased manner. Here, we describe how RNAi high-throughput screening (HTS) in Drosophila cells are currently being performed and emphasize the strengths and weaknesses of the approach. Further, to demonstrate the versatility of the technology, we provide examples of the various applications of the method to problems in signal transduction and cell and developmental biology. Finally, we discuss emerging technological advances that will extend RNAi-based screening methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norbert Perrimon
- Department of Genetics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02175, USA.
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