Shaggy functions downstream of dMyc and their concurrent downregulation confers additive rescue against tau toxicity in Drosophila

Abstract

Neurodegenerative tauopathies such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are characterized by hyperphosphorylation of tau protein and their subsequent aggregation in the forms of paired helical filaments and/or neurofibrillary tangles in specific areas of the brain. Despite several attempts, it remains a challenge to develop reliable biomarkers or effective drugs against tauopathies. It is increasingly evident now that due to the involvement of multiple cellular cascades affected by the pathogenic tau molecules, a single genetic modifier or a molecule is unlikely to be efficient enough to provide an inclusive rescue. Hence, multitargets based combinatorial approach(s) have been suggested to provide an efficient rescue against tauopathies. We have reported earlier that targeted downregulation of dmyc (a Drosophila homolog of human cmyc proto-oncogene) restricts tau etiology by limiting tau hyperphosphorylation and heterochromatin loss. Although, dmyc generates a significant rescue; however, it is not proficient enough to provide a complete alleviation against tauopathies. Here, we report that tissue-specific concurrent downregulation of dmyc and gsk3β conveys a near-complete rescue against tau toxicity in Drosophila. We noted that combinatorial downregulation of dmyc and gsk3β reduces tau hyperphosphorylation, restricts the formation of neurofibrillary tangles, and restores heterochromatin loss to the physiological level. Our subsequent investigations revealed that dmyc regulates gsk3β via protein phosphatase 2A (dPP2A) in a dose-dependent manner to regulate tau pathogenesis. We propose that dmyc and gsk3β candidates can be utilized in a synergistic manner for the development of an efficient combinatorial therapeutic approach against the devastating human tauopathies.