Friday, March 24, 2017

Aggression among flies as a model behavior for studies related to human neurological disorders

Zwarts L, Vulsteke V, Buhl E, Hodge JJ, Callaerts P. SlgA, the homologue of the human schizophrenia associated PRODH gene, acts in clock neurons to regulate Drosophila aggression. Dis Model Mech. 2017 Mar 22. pii: dmm.027151. PMID: 28331058.

From the abstract: "Mutations in proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) are linked to behavioral alterations in schizophrenia ... We here establish a Drosophila model to study the role of PRODH in behavioral disorders. We ... show that knock-down and overexpression of human PRODH and slgA in the lateral neurons ventral (LNv) lead to altered aggressive behavior. SlgA acts in an isoform-specific manner and is regulated by casein kinase II (CkII). Our data suggest that these effects are, at least partially, due to effects on mitochondrial function. We thus show that precise regulation of proline metabolism is essential to drive normal behavior and we identify Drosophila aggression as a model behavior relevant for the study of mechanisms impaired in neuropsychiatric disorders."

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