Fly neurons could reveal the root of Alzheimer’s disease, says a TAU researcher
Ya’ara Saad, a PhD candidate in the lab of Prof. Amir Ayali at TAU’s Department of Zoology and the Sagol School of Neurosciences. is exploring how neural networks develop one neuron at a time. In the lab, the researchers break the fly’s nervous system down into single cells, separate these cells, then place them at a distance from each other in a Petri dish. After a few days, the neurons begin to grow towards one another and establish connections, and then migrate to form clusters of cells. Finally, they re-organize themselves to form a sophisticated network, says Saad. Because these experiments uniquely allow researchers to concentrate on individual neurons, they can perform specific measurements of proteins, note electrical activity, watch synapses develop, and see how physical changes take shape.
Saad and her fellow researchers are using this technique to observe how neurodegenerative diseases take over the neurons and to potentially test various medicinal interventions. In their experiments, one group of flies is genetically modified so that it expresses a peptide called Amyloid Beta, found in protein-based plaques of human Alzheimer’s disease patients. The results of these studies are then compared to those of a non-modified control group. Both strains of flies are provided by Prof. Daniel Segal of TAU’s Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology.
Previous studies performed on flies expressing Amyloid Beta showed that they demonstrate Alzheimer’s-like symptoms such as motor problems, impaired learning capabilities, and shorter lifespans. While this peptide has been researched for quite some time, scientists still do not know how it functions. Saad says her work may help unlock the mystery of this function. “Now I can really get into the molecular operation of Amyloid Beta inside the cell. I can watch the dysfunction in the synapses, monitor the proteins involved, and record electrical activity in a much more accessible way,” she says.
