The Importance of Drosophila melanogaster Research to UnCover Cellular Pathways Underlying Parkinson's Disease

• Published in: Cells (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 10; no. 3; p. 579
• Main Authors: Vos, Melissa, Klein, Christine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 06.03.2021; MDPI AG
• Subjects: Animals; Brain - metabolism; Brain - pathology; Disease Models, Animal; Drosophila melanogaster; Drosophila melanogaster - genetics; Drosophila melanogaster - metabolism; Drosophila Proteins - deficiency; Drosophila Proteins - genetics; endo-lysosomal pathway; Endosomes - metabolism; Endosomes - pathology; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; lipid homeostasis; Lysosomes - metabolism; Lysosomes - pathology; Metabolic Networks and Pathways - genetics; mitochondria; Mitochondria - genetics; Mitochondria - metabolism; Mitochondria - pathology; Nerve Tissue Proteins - deficiency; Nerve Tissue Proteins - genetics; Oxidative Stress; Parkinson Disease - genetics; Parkinson Disease - metabolism; Parkinson Disease - pathology; Parkinson’s disease; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases - deficiency; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases - genetics; Review; Signal Transduction; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases - deficiency; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases - genetics; lipid homeostasis; endo-lysosomal pathway; Drosophila melanogaster; mitochondria; Parkinson’s disease
• ISSN: 2073-4409; 2073-4409
• DOI: 10.3390/cells10030579

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder that is currently incurable. As a consequence of an incomplete understanding of the etiology of the disease, therapeutic strategies mainly focus on symptomatic treatment. Even though the majority of PD cases remain idiopathic (~90%), several genes have been identified to be causative for PD, facilitating the generation of animal models that are a good alternative to study disease pathways and to increase our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of PD. has proven to be an excellent model in these studies. In this review, we will discuss the different PD models in flies and key findings identified in flies in different affected pathways in PD. Several molecular changes have been identified, of which mitochondrial dysfunction and a defective endo-lysosomal pathway emerge to be the most relevant for PD pathogenesis. Studies in flies have significantly contributed to our knowledge of how disease genes affect and interact in these pathways enabling a better understanding of the disease etiology and providing possible therapeutic targets for the treatment of PD, some of which have already resulted in clinical trials.