Extensive and Detailed Analysis of Sleep and Locomotion Patterns of Parkinsonian Genotypes in Drosophila melanogaster.

GUSTAVO EZEQUIEL PEREZ; SOLEDAD YAMILA BARRIENTOS EDUARDS; SEBASTIAN RISAU GUSMAN; D. LORENA FRANCO

Congreso; XXXVIII Reunión Anual de la SAN; 2023

After Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease (PD) ranks asthe second most common neurodegenerative syndrome, significantly affectingmotor function, quality of life, and life expectancy of patients. Motorsymptoms associated with PD are attributed to the loss of dopaminergic neuronsin the region of the Substantia Nigra Compacta (DA-SNc) in the brain. Moreover,it is increasingly evident that PD patients experience a range of non-motorsymptoms, including sleep disorders. Of particular interest is REM sleepbehavior disorder (RBD), as recent studies highlight that a considerablepercentage of patients diagnosed with RBD eventually develop PD. In thisresearch project, the aim is to delve into the behavioral repercussions of mutationsrelated to PD and RBD in Drosophila melanogaster. The investigationencompasses the study of anomalies in locomotion patterns, sleep architecture,and sudden movements during sleep. Flies at different life stages - young,adult, and old - were analyzed to assess the progression of these symptoms. Thegoal was to correlate behavioral defects with PD molecular mechanisms (such asmutations in alpha-synuclein genes and loss of Gba expression) restricted toneuronal groups responsible for sleep and locomotion control. The insightsgained from this study will provide a deeper understanding of the affectedneuronal groups in PD and RBD, in addition to further establishing RBD symptomsas an early indicator of PD. The ultimate objective is to establish a novelpreclinical animal model for the disease, thereby enabling the evaluation ofnew therapeutic treatments in Drosophila.