Deregulation of the Egfr/Ras signaling pathway induces age-related brain degeneration in the Drosophila mutant vap

José A. Botella, Doris Kretzschmar, Claudia Kiermayer, Pascale Feldmann, David A. Hughes, Stephan Schneuwly

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ras signaling has been shown to play an important role in promoting cell survival in many different tissues. Here we show that upregulation of Ras activity in adult Drosophila neurons induces neuronal cell death, as evident from the phenotype of vacuolar peduncle (vap) mutants defective in the Drosophila RasGAP gene, which encodes a Ras GTPase-activating protein. These mutants show age-related brain degeneration that is dependent on activation of the EGF receptor signaling pathway in adult neurons, leading to autophagic cell death (cell death type 2). These results provide the first evidence for a requirement of Egf receptor activity in differentiated adult Drosophila neurons and show that a delicate balance of Ras activity is essential for the survival of adult neurons.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)241-250
Number of pages10
JournalMolecular biology of the cell
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2003
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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