Drosophila melanogaster as a low‐cost and valuable model for studying type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Drosophila melanogaster has been used as the most successful invertebrate model for studying metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). We induced T2D by feeding Drosophila larvae on a high-sugar diet (HSD). The glucose and trehalose, glycogen, lipid, triglyceride, and protein levels were determined in HSD-fed larvae.Moreover, larval food intake, water content, size, and weight in addition to the development until pupation were observed. Levels of Drosophila insulin-like peptides (DILPs 2, 3, and 5), as well as adipokinetic hormone (AKH), were also determined in HSD-fed larvae by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The results demonstrated that HSD could induce elevated levels of glucose, trehalose, glycogen, and proteins in larvae. The larvae consumed less food intake and were smaller, lighter, and less developed on HSD than those on the control diet. Moreover, the water content of larvae fed HSD was similar to that fed the control diet. HSD induced higher expression of DILP3 and AKH, confirming hyperglycemia with insulin resistance. In sum, Drosophila offers an appropriate model for quick and inexpensive in vivo experimentation on human metabolic diseases.

Ameliorative effect of bayberry leaves proanthocyanidins on high sugar diet induced Drosophila melanogaster

“…Subsequently, the mRNA levels of genes involved in glucose and lipid metabolism significantly altered in flies with HSD consumption ( Supplementary Figure S5 ). Our results revealed that 30%HSD intake led to the pathophysiological and transcriptional changes in Drosophila , which are consistent with the T2DM phenotype as previously reported ( Meshrif et al, 2022 ) ( Eickelberg et al, 2022 ). In the present study, HSD participated the growth and development stages of Drosophila , therefore affecting the organ development and insulin action, which in turn influenced the glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity of flies ( Cassim et al, 2018 ).…”

Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism for diabetes II treatment by the ethyl acetate fraction of Atriplex halimus L.

“…A GENEzolTM TriRNA Pure Kit (Geneaid Research) was used to extract total RNA following the manufacturer's instructions. DILP2 and DILP3 primer sequences were obtained from Musselman et al (2011), and AKH primers were obtained from Meshrif et al (2022). Gapdh was obtained from a RevertAid First Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.).…”

“…Additionally, insulin inhibits hepatic glucose production, promotes glycogen synthesis, and prevents glycogen breakdown (Murillo‐Maldonado & Riesgo‐Escovar, 2017). The experimental protocol for modeling and investigating human T2DM‐associated phenotypes has been based on a model organism consuming a high‐sugar diet (HSD) (Meshrif et al, 2022; Musselman et al, 2011). There are two forms of circulating sugars in Drosophila : glucose and trehalose.…”

Drosophila melanogaster as a Biotechnological Tool to Investigate the Close Connection Between Fatty Diseases and Pesticides

“…Vol.67: e24230091, 2024 www.scielo.br/babt Cont. Table 2 2013 Acute exposure of Drosophila melanogaster to paraquat causes oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction [133] 2013 Paraquat-induced ultrastructural changes and DNA damage in the nervous system is mediated via oxidative-stress-induced cytotoxicity in Drosophila melanogaster [134] 2011 Evaluation of toxicity and genotoxic effects of spinosad and deltamethrin in Drosophila melanogaster and Bactrocera oleae [135] 2006 Evaluation of volatile low molecular weight insecticides using Drosophila melanogaster as a model [136] 2005 Comparative toxic potential of market formulation of two organophosphate pesticides in transgenic Drosophila melanogaster (hsp70-lacZ) [137] 2004 Evaluation of in vivo genotoxicity of cypermethrin in Drosophila melanogaster using the alkaline comet assay [138] Considering the pros and cons of alternative approaches to address functional and mechanistic aspects in biology, Drosophila melanogaster emerges as a powerful tool for the studies of human diseases and metabolism changes [27,[139][140][141][142][143] induced by the effects of toxic agents as xenobiotics and pesticides [144]. This observation is pointed because most genes and metabolic pathways involved in liver diseases find their orthologs in Drosophila (~75% pathogenic-related human genes find their orthologs in fruit flies [27,[145][146][147][148][149], despite the small complexity of the animal's genome, when compared to human [27].…”