Neurogenesis in the adult Drosophila brain

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's currently affect similar to 25 million people worldwide. The global incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is estimated at similar to 70 million/year. Both neurodegenerative diseases and TBI remain without effective treatments. We are utilizing adult Drosophila melanogasterto investigate the mechanisms of brain regeneration with the long-term goal of identifying targets for neural regenerative therapies. We specifically focused on neurogenesis, i.e., the generation of new cells, as opposed to the regrowth of specific subcellular structures such as axons. Like mammals, Drosophila have few proliferating cells in the adult brain. Nonetheless, within 24 hours of a penetrating traumatic brain injury (PTBI) to the central brain, there is a significant increase in the number of proliferating cells. We subsequently detect both new glia and new neurons and the formation of new axon tracts that target appropriate brain regions. Glial cells divide rapidly upon injury to give rise to new glial cells. Other cells near the injury site upregulate neural progenitor genes including asense and deadpan and later give rise to the new neurons. Locomotor abnormalities observed after PTBI are reversed within 2 weeks of injury, supporting the idea that there is functional recovery. Together, these data indicate that adult Drosophila brains are capable of neuronal repair. We anticipate that this paradigm will facilitate the dissection of the mechanisms of neural regeneration and that these processes will be relevant to human brain repair.

Automated summary

By studying the brain regeneration mechanisms in adult Drosophila, it has been discovered that after a traumatic brain injury, new neurons and glial cells can be generated in the Drosophila brain, leading to the repair of neural circuits and improvement in locomotor abnormalities. This indicates that adult Drosophila brains are capable of neuronal repair, which may provide insights into neural regeneration mechanisms relevant to human brain repair.