Humans and flies may not be so different

BRACE-funded PhD student, Amy Preston is working with Professor James Hodge and his research team at the University of Bristol, to look at the link between deafness and Alzheimer’s disease using fruit flies.

Fruit flies are often used in research because they have short lifespans and can be studied with a wide range of genetic tools.
Researchers can also simulate Alzheimer’s disease in flies by increasing the levels of proteins like beta-amyloid and tau, which are also found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

This project focuses on a gene called SLC44A2 (also known as Ctl2),
which may be linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The Ctl2 gene in humans and fruit flies is very similar, making these flies a great model for this research.

What has been achieved so far?

In the first year of Amy’s PhD, she worked with the research team to set up tools to study the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in the flies. They started using a gene-editing method called CRISPR to delete parts of the Ctl2 gene in the flies. They did this to find out which parts of the gene contribute to the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. They also experimented by reducing the activity of the Ctl2 gene, which resulted in effects like those seen in patients with Alzheimer’s, such as reduced memory and trouble with sleep.

Future Impact

These experiments will help us understand how changes in the Ctl2 gene affect Alzheimer’s symptoms. This could point to new ways to treat Alzheimer’s in the future.