Jeibmann A, Paulus W. Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism of brain diseases.
Int J Mol Sci 2009;
10:407-440. [PMID:
19333415 PMCID:
PMC2660653 DOI:
10.3390/ijms10020407]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2008] [Revised: 01/16/2009] [Accepted: 01/20/2009] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster has been utilized to model human brain diseases. In most of these invertebrate transgenic models, some aspects of human disease are reproduced. Although investigation of rodent models has been of significant impact, invertebrate models offer a wide variety of experimental tools that can potentially address some of the outstanding questions underlying neurological disease. This review considers what has been gleaned from invertebrate models of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, metabolic diseases such as Leigh disease, Niemann-Pick disease and ceroid lipofuscinoses, tumor syndromes such as neurofibromatosis and tuberous sclerosis, epilepsy as well as CNS injury. It is to be expected that genetic tools in Drosophila will reveal new pathways and interactions, which hopefully will result in molecular based therapy approaches.
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