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Modulation of Huntington's Disease in Drosophila
Iqra Subhan1, Yasir Hasan Siddique1
1Department of Zoology, Drosophila Transgenic Laboratory, Section of Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202002, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Insights
Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by CAG triplet expansion. This review explores studies using Drosophila, a fruit fly model, to understand HD progression and pathways.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Model Organisms
Background:
- Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder impacting physical and mental abilities.
- HD is an autosomal dominant disorder primarily caused by the expansion of CAG trinucleotide repeats.
- Understanding HD pathogenesis requires robust model systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a concise overview of Huntington's disease.
- To review existing research on HD utilizing animal models.
- To highlight the utility of Drosophila as a model organism for HD research.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on Huntington's disease.
- Focus on research employing Drosophila as a model system.
- Analysis of genetic and pathway studies in HD models.
Main Results:
- Drosophila offers advantages for HD research, including low maintenance costs, a short lifespan, and genetic tractability.
- Various studies have leveraged Drosophila to investigate HD-related pathways.
- The fruit fly model aids in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying HD.
Conclusions:
- Drosophila serves as a valuable model organism for studying Huntington's disease.
- Research using Drosophila contributes significantly to understanding HD progression.
- Further exploration of Drosophila models can advance HD therapeutic strategies.
Abstract:
Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder which deteriorates the physical and mental abilities of the patients. It is an autosomal dominant disorder and is mainly caused by the expansion of a repeating CAG triplet. A number of animal models ranging from worms, fruit flies, mice and rat, pig, sheep and monkeys are available, which have been helpful in understanding various pathways involved during the progression of the disease. Drosophila is one of the most commonly used model organisms for biomedical science, due to low cost maintenance, short life span and easy implications of genetic tools. The present review provides a brief description of HD and the studies carried out for HD to date, taking Drosophila as a model.
