Senolytic Drug Quercetin Rescues Survival from Blue Light Toxicity in Drosophila Model

Abstract

With the increasing frequency of human exposure to blue light, the harmfulness of blue light has received wider attention. The damaging effect of blue light is complex and long‐lasting. In this study, Drosophila melanogaster was used as a model organism to investigate the protective effect of the senolytic drug quercetin on blue light toxicity. As one of the first senolytic drugs discovered, quercetin not only has antioxidant properties, but also has been used to treat various neurological disorders. Our study shows that quercetin can effectively prolong the survival of flies under blue light irradiation, and it significantly increases the egg production of female flies under blue light. In addition, after flies intaking quercetin under blue light, both the spontaneous activity and nutrient metabolism show significant sex‐specificity. The experimental results provide a potentially effective intervention method for organisms to defend against blue light toxicity, and reveal a new function of the senolytic drug quercetin from another perspective.

Rutin intake mitigates the injury of blue light irradiation by altering aging rates of mortality in Drosophila model

“…In another study on dexamethasone‐treated mice model, neuroprotective effects were observed after rutin administration 22 . Meanwhile, male flies sleep less and more fragmented sleep compared to females, which resembles our previous research result 23 . We believe there is a sex‐specific effect that blue light can cause more damage to male flies.…”

“…22 Meanwhile, male flies sleep less and more fragmented sleep compared to females, which resembles our previous research result. 23 We believe there is a sex-specific effect that blue light can cause more damage to male flies. Rutin has a very protective effect on the nervous system.…”

Blue Light Exposure Caused Large-Scale Transcriptional Changes in the Abdomen and Reduced the Reproductive Fitness of the Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda

“…Previous studies have shown that blue light irradiation can kill insects and that the lethal wavelengths of blue light are species-specific [6,7,16]. A few studies also demonstrated that blue light exposure negatively affected the reproduction of insects [53,58,59]. However, the mechanisms of blue light toxicity in insects remain poorly understood.…”

Senolytic and senomorphic secondary metabolites as therapeutic agents in Drosophila melanogaster models of Parkinson’s disease

“…Behaviorally, quercetin improved lifespan and extended the time the flies voluntarily engaged in motor activity, which the authors interpreted as the health span. Quercetin also improved their heat stress survival, increased male activity levels, and boosted female egg production ( 110 ). Although blue light caused oxidative stress, senescence, and pre-mature aging in D. melanogaster , it did not specifically lead to a PD model.…”

“…Blue light irradiation is toxic to D. melanogaster by increasing oxidative stress and accelerating their aging (109). In a recent study, D. melanogaster exposed to blue light irradiation and quercetin treatment experienced a quercetin-mediated reduction of senescent cells, decreased protein content in males, and decreased lipid content in females (110). Behaviorally, quercetin improved lifespan and extended the time the flies voluntarily engaged in motor activity, which the authors interpreted as the health span.…”