The Role of TGF-β Ligands on Mobility and Exercise Performance in Drosophila
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Authors
Savone, Marco
Issue Date
2022
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Endurance exercise has become a successful method for improving mobility decline
associated with age, slowing the occurrence of many age-related diseases, and boosting
metabolic health. Although chronic endurance exercise promotes the health benefits mentioned,
the molecular pathways governing these adaptations are not fully understood. Drosophila has
emerged as a useful model for understanding the physiological processes of endurance exercise
because of their short lifespans and the ability to conduct large genetic screens using genetic
manipulation. Here, we take advantage of the fly’s instinctual negative geotaxis behavior to
assess the effects of chronic endurance exercise on fly metabolism combined with RNAi
expression of TGF-β ligands myostatin and follistatin in the muscle. The activity of myostatin
and follistatin RNAi alters fly fatigue tolerance and climbing speed compared to wild-type flies.
We find that endurance exercise training improves climbing speed in follistatin flies and
endurance in both myostatin and follistatin flies. Among the proteins that play critical roles in the
pathways stemming from exercise, AKT is critical for comparing with myostatin to better
understand its effects with exercise metabolism. The connection between AKT phosphorylation
and myostatin shows how myostatin is required for normal phosphorylation of AKT following
exercise training. Lifespan of myostatin flies is drastically influenced by exercise as we find that
exercised myostatin RNAi flies live longer than unexercised myostatin RNAi flies. These results
indicate that myostatin and follistatin are critical secreted factors that influence the metabolic
adaptations derived from endurance exercise training in Drosophila.
Description
31 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo College
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.