Downregulation of Plasma Membrane Ca ATPase driven by tyrosine hydroxylase-Gal4 reduces Drosophila lifespan independently of effects in neurons.

In , several Gal4 drivers are used to direct gene/RNAi expression to different dopaminergic neuronal clusters. We previously developed a fly model of Parkinson's disease, in which dopaminergic neurons had elevated cytosolic Ca due to the expression of a Plasma Membrane Ca ATPase (PMCA) RNAi under the thyroxine hydroxylase (TH)-Gal4 driver. Surprisingly, TH-Gal4>PMCA flies died earlier compared to controls and showed swelling in the abdominal area.

Plasma membrane calcium ATPase downregulation in dopaminergic neurons alters cellular physiology and motor behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster.

The accumulation of Ca and its subsequent increase in oxidative stress is proposed to be involved in selective dysfunctionality of dopaminergic neurons, the main cell type affected in Parkinson's disease. To test the in vivo impact of Ca increment in dopaminergic neurons physiology, we downregulated the plasma membrane Ca ATPase (PMCA), a pump that extrudes cytosolic Ca , by expressing PMCA in Drosophila melanogaster dopaminergic neurons. In these animals, we observed major locomotor alterations paralleled to higher cytosolic Ca and increased levels of oxidative stress in mitochondria.

Environmental enrichment improves cognitive symptoms and pathological features in a focal model of cortical damage of multiple sclerosis.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neuroinflammatory disease affecting white and grey matter, it is characterized by demyelination, axonal degeneration along with loss of motor, sensitive and cognitive functions. MS is a heterogeneous disease that displays different clinical courses: relapsing/remitting MS (RRMS), and MS progressive forms: primary progressive (PPMS) and secondary progressive (SPMS). Cortical damage in the progressive MS forms has considerable clinical relevance due to its association with cognitive impairment and disability progression in patients.