Nutraceutical Strategy to Counteract Eye Neurodegeneration and Oxidative Stress in Drosophila melanogaster Fed with High-Sugar Diet

Abstract

Aberrant production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a common feature of damaged retinal neurons in diabetic retinopathy, and antioxidants may exert both preventive and therapeutic action. To evaluate the beneficial and antioxidant properties of food supplementation with Lisosan G, a powder of bran and germ of grain (Triticum aestivum) obtained by fermentation with selected lactobacillus and natural yeast strains, we used an in vivo model of hyperglycemia-induced retinal damage, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster fed with high-sucrose diet. Lisosan G positively affected the visual system of hyperglycemic flies at structural/functional level, decreased apoptosis, and reactivated protective autophagy at the retina internal network. Also, in high sucrose-fed Drosophila, Lisosan G reduced the levels of brain ROS and retina peroxynitrite. The analysis of oxidative stress-related metabolites suggested 7,8-dihydrofolate, uric acid, dihydroorotate, γ-L-glutamyl-L-cysteine, allantoin, cysteinyl-glycine, and quinolate as key mediators of Lisosan G-induced inhibition of neuronal ROS, along with the upregulation of glutathione system. Of note, Lisosan G may impact oxidative stress and the ensuing retinal cell death, also independently from autophagy, although the autophagy-ROS cross-talk is critical. This study demonstrated that the continuous supplementation with the alimentary integrator Lisosan G exerts a robust and multifaceted antioxidant effect on retinal neurons, thus providing efficacious neuroprotection of hyperglycemic eye.

Exposure to the Natural Compound Climacostol Induces Cell Damage and Oxidative Stress in the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster

“…Adult fly survivorship was documented recording the numbers of dead individuals per vial every 3 days, starting at the day of adult emergence. Geotaxis was assessed at day 20 from eclosion using a climbing assay (negative geotaxis reflex in opposition to the Earth’s gravity) [ 26 ]. D. melanogaster flies were separated into cohorts (empty vials) consisting of ca.…”

Drosophila as a toolkit to tackle cancer and its metabolism

“…In fact, the utilization of flies as a whole-body organism to reveal the redox process in diseases including cancers has increased over the past few years. Previous studies of aging ( 152 ), obesity ( 93 ), diabetic retinopathy ( 153 , 154 ), and neurodevelopmental diseases ( 155 ) have successfully modeled in flies the oxidative stress in human diseases.…”

“…In addition, MitoSOX is used to distinguish the sources of ROS as a modified version of DHE with a mitochondrion-targeting group to observe ROS that mitochondria generate ( 156 , 158 ). Another widely used fluorogenic probe for oxidative stress in mammals is 2′,7′-Dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFH-DA) probe, which also proved efficient in flies ( 153 , 155 , 159 , 160 ). Furthermore, as a useful genetic tool in flies, the reporter gene GstD can easily quantify intracellular ROS levels.…”

RACK1 is evolutionary conserved in satellite stem cell activation and adult skeletal muscle regeneration

“…Wild-type (Oregon-R strain) and transgenic flies were obtained from Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center (BDSC, Indiana University Bloomington, IN, USA). As previously reported [52,53], flies were routinely raised on a corn meal agar food (pH 5.5) at 25 °C, following standard mating procedures.…”