Efficacy of methuselah gene mutation toward tolerance of dichlorvos exposure in Drosophila melanogaster

Adverse reports on the exposure of organisms to dichlorvos (DDVP; an organophosphate insecticide) necessitate studies of organismal resistance/tolerance by way of pharmacological or genetic means. In the context of genetic modulation, a mutation in methuselah (mth; encodes a class II G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)) is reported to extend (~35%) the life span of Drosophila melanogaster and enhance their resistance to oxidative stress induced by paraquat exposure (short term, high level). A lack of studies on organismal tolerance of DDVP by genetic modulation prompted us to examine the protective efficacy of mth mutation in exposed Drosophila. Flies were exposed to 1.5 and 15.0 ng/ml DDVP for 12–48 h to examine oxidative stress endpoints and chemical resistance. After prolonged exposure of flies to DDVP, antioxidant enzyme activities, oxidative stress, glutathione content, and locomotor performance were assayed at various days (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50) of age. Flies with the mth mutation (mth¹) showed improved chemical resistance and rescued redox impairment after acute DDVP exposure. Exposed mth¹ flies exhibited improved life span along with enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities and rescued oxidative perturbations and locomotor insufficiency up to middle age (~20 days) over similarly exposed w¹¹¹⁸ flies. However, at late (≥30 days) age, these benefits were undermined. Further, similarly exposed mth-knockdown flies showed effects similar to those observed in mth¹ flies. This study provides evidence of tolerance in organisms carrying a mth mutation against prolonged DDVP exposure and further warrants examination of similar class II GPCR signaling facets toward better organismal health.     

果蝇来源的GPCR Methuselah G蛋白偶联信号转导通路研究

Methuselah(MTH)是果蝇来源的GPCR中的一员,它的突变可延长果蝇平均寿命并提高果蝇对外界胁迫因素的耐受性。但目前对MTH在细胞水平的信号转导研究鲜有报道。该研究用稳定表达MTH的HEK293细胞株,对与该受体偶联的G蛋白选择性做了研究。首先,用免疫荧光染色、Western blot及钙流实验验证了MTH在HEK293/Myc-MTH细胞表面能稳定表达,且具有正常生物学活性;MTH受体被其配体N-stunted活化后所引起细胞内钙的上升不能被PTX预处理抑制,提示活化的MTH可能通过与Gq/11而非Gi/o蛋白相偶联;进一步研究发现,MTH激活后不显著改变细胞中的cAMP水平,表明MTH不与Gs和Gi/o相偶联;MTH被激活后可引起ERK磷酸化。这些结果提示:MTH可能是Gq/11蛋白的偶联受体,为进一步研究MTH的下游信号转导和生物学功能奠定了基础。