Abstract
Obesity and cardiovascular disease are among the world's leading causes of death, especially in Western countries where consumption of high caloric food is commonly accompanied by low physical activity. This lifestyle often leads to energy imbalance, obesity, diabetes and their associated metabolic disorders, including cardiovascular diseases. It has become increasingly recognized that obesity and cardiovascular disease are metabolically linked, and a better understanding of this relationship requires that we uncover the fundamental genetic mechanisms controlling obesity-related heart dysfunction, a goal that has been difficult to achieve in higher organisms with intricate metabolic complexity. However, the high degree of evolutionary conservation of genes and signalling pathways allows researchers to use lower animal models such as Drosophila, which is the simplest genetic model with a heart, to uncover the mechanistic basis of obesity-related heart disease and its likely relevance to humans. Here, we discuss recent advances made by using the power of the Drosophila as a powerful model to investigate the genetic pathways by which a high fat diet may lead to heart dysfunction.
Highlights
Vertebrate animal models have contributed greatly to our understanding of human biology and physiology [1,2,3,4]
To identify new modifiers of obesity-associated heart dysfunction in Drosophila, we have conducted a screen of genes that are implicated in various aspects of lipid metabolism, to find new gene functions that modulate the degree of fat accumulation and have potentially detrimental effects on heart function
Increased fat accumulation in flies with decreased Spargel function is correlated with an increase in heart defects, whereas the heart is protected from the effects of obesity when Spargel is overexpressed, suggesting that this co-activator plays an important role in high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and heart dysfunction
Summary
Vertebrate animal models (rodents, frogs and fish) have contributed greatly to our understanding of human biology and physiology [1,2,3,4]. Most gene families and signalling pathways are highly conserved between flies and humans [12], making Drosophila the organism of choice among the invertebrate models to perform heart function-related studies. We discuss the use of Drosophila as a model for studying obesity and heart dysfunction as a consequence of excess dietary fat intake.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
