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Study · Animal study (in vivo) · drosophila · 2026

1 result

Drosophila wing is a high-throughput and versatile screening tool for Tau-mediated disease mechanisms and drug discovery.

Ramirez-Moreno M, Cooper AS, Lian T, Liu J, Abtahi S, Skoulakis EMC, Sivanantharajah L, Allan DW, Mudher A

Disease models & mechanisms1 Feb 2026Cited by 1 (Europe PMC)

PMID41631437 (opens in a new tab)PMCIDPMC12994453 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1242/dmm.052492 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-41631437
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Summary

Tau protein contributes to microtubule stability, which is disrupted in Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies. In these diseases, Tau molecules become hyperphosphorylated, misfolded and aggregated, propagating pathology across the brain. Studies dissecting disease mechanisms or screening disease-modifying therapies rely on animal models that unveil pathogenic events in vivo but also take several weeks or months to complete. Here, we describe a versatile experimental paradigm that yields results in days and yet offers all the advantages of a genetically tractable in vivo system: the Drosophila wing. Mimicking neurotoxicity, human Tau expression caused cell death in Drosophila wing disc, leading to quantifiable phenotypes in the adult wing. The neuroprotective peptide NAPVSIPQ ameliorated Tau toxicity in this system, validating it as a cost-effective drug-screening tool. Phenocopying adult neurons, Tau toxicity in the wing disc was exacerbated by simulating hyperphosphorylation and prevented by suppressing aggregation. Additionally, we showed that the wing disc can dissect disease mechanisms that underpin clinically relevant Tau variants. Thus, the Drosophila wing offers an in vivo experimental paradigm for fast and efficient exploration of disease mechanism and screening.
CC BYText from Europe PMC. Highlighted sentences are the source of results.

Results from this study1

1 result from studies that gave the peptide. No result from this study comes from people.

  1. 01AnimalAnimal study (in vivo)Efficacy outcome

    In Drosophila expressing human Tau in wing discs, NAPVSIPQ ameliorated Tau toxicity.

    In plain wordsIn fruit flies with human Tau in wing discs, NAPVSIPQ reduced Tau toxicity.

    Peptide
    Davunetide
    Outcome
    DecreaseTau toxicity
    Study

    Drosophilan: not reported in source

    human Tau-expressing wing disc
    Outcome group
    Neuroprotection · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated

    Source sentences

    Summary
    The neuroprotective peptide NAPVSIPQ ameliorated Tau toxicity in this system, validating it as a cost-effective drug-screening tool.

AI wrote and checked these results. AI can make mistakes, so check important results against the source.

Version history

PepBank keeps every version of the data on this study. Status changes from Retraction Watch, Europe PMC and Crossref are listed with their source.

  1. Version 2Current

    27 Oct 2026, 18:20 UTC

    Study results updated

  2. Version 1

    27 Oct 2026, 16:32 UTC

    First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

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