Alzheimers disease is a widespread and devastating neurological disorder associated with proteotoxic events caused by the misfolding and aggregation of the amyloid-beta peptide. To find therapeutic strategies to combat this disease, Drosophila melanogaster has proved to be an excellent model organism that is able to uncover anti-proteotoxic candidates due to its outstanding genetic toolbox and resemblance to human disease genes. In this review, we highlight the use of Drosophila melanogaster to both study the proteotoxicity of the amyloid-beta peptide and to screen for drug candidates. Expanding the knowledge of how the etiology of Alzheimers disease is related to proteotoxicity and how drugs can be used to block disease progression will hopefully shed further light on the field in the search for disease-modifying treatments.

Alzheimers disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, affecting millions of people and currently lacking available disease-modifying treatments. Appropriate disease models are necessary to investigate disease mechanisms and potential treatments. Drosophila melanogaster models of AD include the A beta fly model and the A beta PP-BACE1 fly model. In the A beta fly model, the A beta peptide is fused to a secretion sequence and directly overexpressed. In the A beta PP-BACE1 model, human A beta PP and human BACE1 are expressed in the fly, resulting in in vivo production of A beta peptides and other A beta PP cleavage products. Although these two models have been used for almost two decades, the underlying mechanisms resulting in neurodegeneration are not yet clearly understood. In this study, we have characterized toxic mechanisms in these two AD fly models. We detected neuronal cell death and increased protein carbonylation (indicative of oxidative stress) in both AD fly models. In the A beta fly model, this correlates with high A beta(1-42) levels and down-regulation of the levels of mRNA encoding lysosomal-associated membrane protein 1, lamp1 (a lysosomal marker), while in the A beta PP-BACE1 fly model, neuronal cell death correlates with low A beta(1-42) levels, up-regulation of lamp1 mRNA levels and increased levels of C-terminal fragments. In addition, a significant amount of A beta PP/A beta antibody (4G8)-positive species, located close to the endosomal marker rab5, was detected in the A beta PP-BACE1 model. Taken together, this study highlights the similarities and differences in the toxic mechanisms which result in neuronal death in two different AD fly models. Such information is important to consider when utilizing these models to study AD pathogenesis or screening for potential treatments.