What Mutant Flies Can Teach Us About Autoimmune Disorders

What Mutant Flies Can Teach Us About Autoimmune Disorders New research suggests winged critters with a penchant for overripe fruit may hold a secret to understanding autoimmune disorders such as lupus. Rosemary Brandt Today College of Agriculture and Life SciencesiStock-174766622.jpgHealthCollege of Agriculture and Life SciencesExpertsExplorationResearch Media contact(s)Rosemary Brandt College of Agriculture and Life Sciencesrjbrandt@email.arizona.edu520-358-9729From founding the field of genetics research to unraveling the mysteries of disease, tiny fruit flies have made a big impact on our understanding of human biology.While it may not look it, the insects share 60% of their genes with humans. Fruit flies have therefore become an important model organism for studying gene function and interactions – helping scientists explore everything from aging to cancer.According to astudy published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, those tiny but mighty flies may also hold an important piece of the autoimmune disease puzzle.  " We focused on a fly mutant that mounts an immune response against one of its own internal organs, " said study co-authorTodd Schlenke, an associate professor in theDepartment of Entomology in the University of ArizonaCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences.These particular mutant fruit flies, known to the scientific community as tumor Suzuki flies, were first discovered in the 1960s and are recognizable by the gobs of bl...
Source: The University of Arizona: Health - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Source Type: research