Defensive Behavior against Noxious Heat Stimuli Is Declined with Aging Due to Decreased Pain-Associated Gene Expression in Drosophila

Abstract

Aging is defined as a collective process that alters organism’s functional capacity and appearance over the course of life. Apart from an increase in susceptibility to many diseases, aging affects the cellular system that is responsible for decoding painful stimuli. Yet, aging-associated molecular mechanisms of pain perception remains elusive. Using Drosophila, we showed a decrease in temperature tolerance and a reduction in high temperature thermal avoidance with aging. Locomotor activity assay demonstrated that the age-dependent changes in heat nociception did not stem from the general decline in muscular activity. However, we identified pain-related gene expression alteration with aging. We anticipate that our findings would help opening a new window onto developing the optimal pain treatment for the elderly.

Fan-Shaped Body Neurons in the Drosophila Brain Regulate Both Innate and Conditioned Nociceptive Avoidance

“…Because ES is not a natural stimulus, we examined whether FB neurons are also involved in responses to natural nociceptive stimuli, such as heat. We employed a commonly used assay for determining heat-induced avoidance (Ghimire and Kim, 2015;Neely et al, 2010Neely et al, , 2011. Approximately 20 flies were transferred into a dish that was set on top of a 48 C water bath.…”

A proteomic approach reveals the differential protein expression in Drosophila melanogaster treated with red ginseng extract (Panax ginseng)

“…Related to this is a progressive decrease in immune activity or immune senescence. As animals age, their mitochondrial function and thus cellular metabolism systematically decline, leading to a loss of cellular homeostasis and the occurrence of multiple disorders [3] , [4] . Thus, a number of efforts have been made to elucidate the mechanisms of the processes of aging and to discover new compounds that retain antiaging activities.…”

Behavioral changes in senescent giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) are associated with peripheral neural degeneration and loss of epithelial tissue

“…Wang & Ragsdale, 2018) showed changes in expression levels of neurotransmitter and other neuralfunction associated proteins in brooding and senescent females, indicating a prolonged and progressive suite of hormonally driven changes the nervous system occur throughout senescence. In other invertebrate species, age-associated changes to nociception and mechanosensation have been attributed to changes within sensory neurons (Ghimire & Kim, 2015), while in mammals, where the most extensive study of age-related changes to pain perception have been conducted, there is evidence for changes in both peripheral and central compartments (Devor, 1991;Lautenbacher et al, 2005;Taguchi et al, 2010).…”