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A Drosophila Asthma Model – What the Fly Tells Us About Inflammatory Diseases of the Lung

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Recent Advances on Model Hosts

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 710))

Abstract

Asthma and COPD are the most relevant inflammatory diseases of the airways. In western countries they show a steeply increasing prevalence, making them to a severe burden for health systems around the world. Although these diseases are typically complex ones, they have an important genetic component. Genome-wide association studies have provided us with a relatively small but comprehensive list of asthma susceptibility genes that will be extended and presumably completed in the near future. To identify the role of these genes in the physiology and pathophysiology of the lung, genetically tractable model organisms are indispensable and murine models were the only ones that have been extensively used. An urgent demand for complementary models is present that provide specific advantages lacking in murine models, especially regarding speed and flexibility. Among the model organisms available, only the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster shares a comparable organ composition and at least a lung equivalent. It has to be acknowledged that the fruit fly Drosophila has almost completely been ignored as a model organism for lung diseases, simply because it is devoid of lungs. Nevertheless, its airway system shows striking similarities with the one of mammals regarding its physiology and reaction towards pathogens, which holds the potential to function as a versatile model in asthma-related diseases.

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Acknowledgements

Research in our group was sponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as parts of the SFB Transregio-22 (Teilprojekt A7) and the Cluster Inflammation@interfaces.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    Thomas Roeder & Kerstin Isermann

  2. Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany

    Kim Kallsen & Karin Uliczka

  3. University Hospital Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Christina Wagner

Authors
  1. Thomas Roeder
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  2. Kerstin Isermann
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  3. Kim Kallsen
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  4. Karin Uliczka
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  5. Christina Wagner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Roeder .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Fruit Street 55, Boston, 02114-2696, Massachusetts, USA

    Eleftherios Mylonakis

  2. Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge Street 185, Boston, 02114, Massachusetts, USA

    Frederick M. Ausubel

  3. Schepens Eye Research Inst., Harvard Medical School, Staniford St. 20, Boston, 02114, Massachusetts, USA

    Michael Gilmore

  4. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dept. Microbiology & Immunology, Yeshiva University, Morris Park Ave. 1300, Bronx, 10461, New York, USA

    Arturo Casadevall

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Roeder, T., Isermann, K., Kallsen, K., Uliczka, K., Wagner, C. (2012). A Drosophila Asthma Model – What the Fly Tells Us About Inflammatory Diseases of the Lung. In: Mylonakis, E., Ausubel, F., Gilmore, M., Casadevall, A. (eds) Recent Advances on Model Hosts. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 710. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5638-5_5

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