Short-term exposure to dim light at night disrupts rhythmic behaviors and causes neurodegeneration in fly models of tauopathy and Alzheimer's disease

Mari Kim, Manivannan Subramanian, Yun Ho Cho, Gye Hyeong Kim, Eunil Lee, Joong Jean Park

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The accumulation and aggregation of phosphorylated tau proteins in the brain are the hallmarks for the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In addition, disruptions in circadian rhythms (CRs) with altered sleep-wake cycles, dysregulation of locomotion, and increased memory defects have been reported in patients with AD. Drosophila flies that have an overexpression of human tau protein in neurons exhibit most of the symptoms of human patients with AD, including locomotion defects and neurodegeneration. Using the fly model for tauopathy/AD, we investigated the effects of an exposure to dim light at night on AD symptoms. We used a light intensity of 10 lux, which is considered the lower limit of light pollution in many countries. After the tauopathy flies were exposed to the dim light at night for 3 days, the flies showed disrupted CRs, altered sleep-wake cycles due to increased pTau proteins and neurodegeneration, in the brains of the AD flies. The results indicate that the nighttime exposure of tauopathy/AD model Drosophila flies to dim light disrupted CR and sleep-wake behavior and promoted neurodegeneration.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1722-1729
Number of pages8
JournalBiochemical and biophysical research communications
Volume495
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018 Jan 8

Keywords

  • Alzheimer's disease (AD)
  • Circadian rhythm (CR)
  • Dim light at night (dLAN)
  • Drosophila melanogaster
  • Neurodegeneration
  • Sleep

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biophysics
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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