X-Message-Number: 9939 Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 09:01:51 -0700 (PDT) From: Doug Skrecky <> Subject: extension of drosophilia lifespan "Extension of Drosophilia Lifespan by Overexpression of Human SOD1 in Motorneurons" Nature Genetics 19: 171-174 June 1988 Abstract: Reactive oxygen (RO) has been identified as an important effector in ageing and lifespan determination. The specific cell types, however, in which oxidative damage acts to limit lifespan of the whole organism have not been explicitly identified. The association between mutations in the gene encoding the oxygen radical metabolizing enzyme CuZn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) and loss of motorneurons in the brain and spinal cord that occurs in the life-shortening paralytic disease, Familial Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (FALS), suggests that chronic and unrepaired oxidative damage occuring specifically in motor neurons could be a critical factor in ageing. To test this hypothesis, we generated transgenetic Drosophilia which express human SOD1 specifically in adult motorneurons. We show that overexpression of a single gene, SOD1, in a single cell type, the motorneuron, extends normal lifespan by up to 40% and rescues the lifespan of a short-lived Sod null mutant. Elevated resistance to oxidative stress suggests that the lifespan extension observed in these flies is due to enhanced RO metabolism. These results show that SOD activity in motorneurons is an important factor in ageing and lifespan determination in Drosophilia. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=9939