Investigation of therapeutic potential of cerium oxide nanoparticles in Alzheimer’s disease using transgenic Drosophila

• Published in: 3 Biotech 2021-04, Vol.11 (4), p.159-159, Article 159
• Main Authors: Sundararajan, Vignesh, Venkatasubbu, G. Devanand, Sheik Mohideen, Sahabudeen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetylcholinesterase; Agriculture; Alzheimer's disease; Autophagy; Bioinformatics; Biomaterials; Biotechnology; Cancer Research; Cerium oxides; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Climbing; Drosophila; Flies; Fourier transforms; Fruit flies; Gene expression; Infrared analysis; Insects; Nanoparticles; Neurodegenerative diseases; Original; Original Article; Phagocytosis; Raman spectroscopy; Stem Cells; Superoxide dismutase; Tau protein; Transmission electron microscopy; X-ray diffraction
• ISSN: 2190-572X; 2190-5738
• DOI: 10.1007/s13205-021-02706-x

In the current study, the therapeutic potential of cerium oxide nanoparticles (nCeO 2 ) was investigated in a human tau (htau) model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), using Drosophila melanogaster as an in vivo model. nCeO 2 synthesised via the hydroxide-mediated approach were characterised using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses and Raman spectroscopy. Characterisation studies confirmed the formation of pure cubic-structured nCeO 2 and showed that the particles were spherically shaped, with an average size between 20 and 25 nm. The synthesised nCeO 2 were then administered as part of the diet to transgenic Drosophila for one month, at 0.1 and 1 mM concentrations, and its effect on the biochemical levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and the climbing activity of flies were studied in a pan-neuronal model (elav; htau) of AD. Using an eye-specific model of htau expression (GMR; htau), the effect of nCeO 2 on htau and autophagy-related (ATG) gene expression was also studied. Dietary administration of nCeO 2 at a concentration of 1 mM restored the activity of SOD similar to that of control, but both concentrations of nCeO 2 failed to modulate the level of AChE, and did not elicit any significant improvements in the climbing activity of elav; htau flies. Moreover, nCeO 2 at a concentration of 1 mM significantly affected the climbing activity of elav; htau flies. nCeO 2 also elicited a significant decrease in htau gene expression at both concentrations and increased the mRNA expression of key autophagy genes ATG1 and ATG18. The results therefore indicate that nCeO 2 aids in replenishing the levels of SOD and tau clearance via the activation of autophagy.