title: Transgenic Drosophila models of Alzheimer's disease and tauopathies.
abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of senile dementia. Aggregation of the amyloid-beta42 peptide (Abeta42) and tau proteins are pathological hallmarks in AD brains. Accumulating evidence suggests that Abeta42 plays a central role in the pathogenesis of AD, and tau acts downstream of Abeta42 as a modulator of the disease progression. Tau pathology is also observed in frontotemporal dementia with Parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17) and other related diseases, so called tauopathies. Although most cases are sporadic, genes associated with familial AD and FTDP-17 have been identified, which led to the development of transgenic animal models. Drosophila has been a powerful genetic model system used in many fields of biology, and recently emerges as a model for human neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we will summarize key features of transgenic Drosophila models of AD and tauopathies and a number of insights into disease mechanisms as well as therapeutic implications gained from these models.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Pathobiology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Farber Institute for Neurosciences, Thomas Jefferson University, 900 Walnut Street, JHN410, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA. Kanae.Iijima-Ando@jefferson.edu
authors.forename: Kanae
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iijima-Ando
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iijima
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D058225:Plaque, Amyloid / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D024801:Tauopathies / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D016875:tau Proteins