Caspase inhibition in select olfactory neurons restores innate attraction behavior in aged Drosophila

Sensory and cognitive performance decline with age. Neural dysfunction caused by nerve death in senile dementia and neurodegenerative disease has been intensively studied; however, functional changes in neural circuits during the normal aging process are not well understood. Caspases are key regulat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPLoS genetics Vol. 10; no. 6; p. e1004437
Main Authors Chihara, Takahiro, Kitabayashi, Aki, Morimoto, Michie, Takeuchi, Ken-ichi, Masuyama, Kaoru, Tonoki, Ayako, Davis, Ronald L, Wang, Jing W, Miura, Masayuki
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Public Library of Science 01.06.2014
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

Loading…
More Information
Summary:Sensory and cognitive performance decline with age. Neural dysfunction caused by nerve death in senile dementia and neurodegenerative disease has been intensively studied; however, functional changes in neural circuits during the normal aging process are not well understood. Caspases are key regulators of cell death, a hallmark of age-related neurodegeneration. Using a genetic probe for caspase-3-like activity (DEVDase activity), we have mapped age-dependent neuronal changes in the adult brain throughout the lifespan of Drosophila. Spatio-temporally restricted caspase activation was observed in the antennal lobe and ellipsoid body, brain structures required for olfaction and visual place memory, respectively. We also found that caspase was activated in an age-dependent manner in specific subsets of Drosophila olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs), Or42b and Or92a neurons. These neurons are essential for mediating innate attraction to food-related odors. Furthermore, age-induced impairments of neural transmission and attraction behavior could be reversed by specific inhibition of caspase in these ORNs, indicating that caspase activation in Or42b and Or92a neurons is responsible for altering animal behavior during normal aging.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
Conceived and designed the experiments: TC AK MMo MMi. Performed the experiments: TC AK MMo KM AT KT. Analyzed the data: TC AK MMo KM AT KT. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: TC AK MMo KM AT. Wrote the paper: TC KM AT RLD JWW MMi.
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
ISSN:1553-7404
1553-7390
1553-7404
DOI:10.1371/journal.pgen.1004437