Tiny Flies, Big Answers: Dr. Matthew Moulton’s Lab Targets Alzheimer’s Disease at the Molecular Level

By: TAMU Biology

matthew moulton's lab members posing outsideIn the search for answers to one of today’s most pressing health challenges, Alzheimer’s disease, Dr. Matthew Moulton is looking to an unexpected ally: the fruit fly. At Texas A&M University’s Department of Biology, Dr. Moulton uses genetically engineered Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) that carry human genes associated with neurodegenerative diseases to better understand how conditions like Alzheimer’s take hold and progress.

These humanized fruit fly models allow researchers to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration with incredible precision. Dr. Moulton’s team investigates how proteins linked to Alzheimer’s, such as amyloid-beta and tau, affect brain function, and how these effects can be slowed or reversed.

figure showing nerons sending lipids to APOE that enter lipid droplets in the glia “There are so many unanswered questions about how Alzheimer’s disease initiates and progresses over time, that we need to focus on the basics of how cells function in response to genetic mutations.” says Dr. Moulton, “Our lab uses the fruit fly to do this by examining the functional consequences of human genetic alterations in a living, functioning brain. We have already uncovered an important biological pathway that protects the brain from age-related degeneration that requires at least ten known risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease including APOE. We are now collaborating with the lab run by Dr. Alex Keene to find pharmacologics that prevent brain degeneration caused by mutations in these disease risk factors.”

figure showing human outline with arrows to fly outlines that read human gene and disease variant

Why It Matters

With over 6 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s, and that number expected to rise sharply, finding effective treatments is a public health priority. Dr. Moulton’s work helps identify the molecular triggers of brain cell death and dysfunction, knowledge that is essential for developing therapies that could slow, prevent, or even reverse disease progression.

To learn more about Dr. Moulton’s research, visit his faculty profile!