Delayed glial clearance of degenerating axons in aged Drosophila is due to reduced PI3K/Draper activity.

ABSTRACT: Advanced age is the greatest risk factor for neurodegenerative disorders, but the mechanisms that render the senescent brain vulnerable to disease are unclear. Glial immune responses provide neuroprotection in a variety of contexts. Thus, we explored how glial responses to neurodegeneration are altered with age. Here we show that glia-axon phagocytic interactions change dramatically in the aged Drosophila brain. Aged glia clear degenerating axons slowly due to low phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) signalling and, subsequently, reduced expression of the conserved phagocytic receptor Draper/MEGF10. Importantly, boosting PI3K/Draper activity in aged glia significantly reverses slow phagocytic responses. Moreover, several hours post axotomy, early hallmarks of Wallerian degeneration (WD) are de

SUBMITTER: Purice MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5034330 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature