Taking flight, the use of Drosophila melanogaster for neuroscience research in Uruguay

Neuroscience 2025 May 7:573:104-119

Gonzalo Budelli 1 , María José Ferreiro 2 , Carmen Bolatto 3

1 Unidad Académica de Biofísica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República (UdelaR), Montevideo, Uruguay. Electronic address: gbudelli@fmed.edu.uy. 2 Departamento de Neurofarmacología Experimental, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (IIBCE), Ministerio de Educación y Cultura (MEC), Montevideo, Uruguay. 3 Unidad Académica de Histología y Embriología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República (UdelaR), Montevideo, Uruguay; Departamento de Neurobiología y Neuropatología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (IIBCE), Ministerio de Educación y Cultura (MEC), Montevideo, Uruguay.

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2025.03.006
PMID: 40058485
Pubmed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40058485
Texto completo: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0306-4522(25)00193-9

Abstract:
The Sociedad de Neurociencias del Uruguay is celebrating its 30th anniversary, sustained by more than a century of neuroscience research in the country. During this time, different approaches and experimental organisms have been incorporated to study diverse aspects of neurobiology. One of these experimental animals, successfully used in a variety of biological fields, is the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Although Drosophila has been a model organism for neuroscience research worldwide for many decades, its use in Uruguay for that purpose is relatively new and just taking flight. In this special issue article, we will describe some of the research lines that are currently using Drosophila for neuroscience studies, questioning a wide range of issues including thermoreception, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, screening of bioactive compounds with a neuroprotective effect, and gene/protein function during development of the nervous system. The consolidation of these research lines has been achieved due to unique features of D. melanogaster as an experimental model. We will review the advantages of using Drosophila to study neurobiology and describe some of its useful genetic tools. Advantages such as having powerful genetics, highly conserved disease pathways, a complete connectome, very low comparative costs, easy maintenance, and the support of a collaborative community allowing access to a vast toolkit, all make D. melanogaster an ideal model organism for neuroscientists in countries with low levels of investment in research and development. This review focuses on the strengths and description of useful techniques to study neurobiology using Drosophila, from the perspective of a Latin-American experience.

Mitochondria and astrocyte reactivity: Key mechanism behind neuronal injury

Neuroscience 2025 Feb 16:567:227-234

Patricia Cassina 1 , Ernesto Miquel 2 , Laura Martínez-Palma 2 , Adriana Cassina 3

1 Departamento de Histología y Embriología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay. Electronic address: pcassina@fmed.edu.uy. 2 Departamento de Histología y Embriología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay. 3 Departemento de Bioquímica and Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas (CEINBIO), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay.

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.12.058
PMID: 39788313
Pubmed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39788313
Texto completo: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0306-4522(24)00765-6

Abstract:
In this special issue to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Uruguayan Society for Neuroscience (SNU), we find it pertinent to highlight that research on glial cells in Uruguay began almost alongside the history of SNU and contributed to the understanding of neuron-glia interactions within the international scientific community. Glial cells, particularly astrocytes, traditionally regarded as supportive components in the central nervous system (CNS), undergo notable morphological and functional alterations in response to neuronal damage, a phenomenon referred to as glial reactivity. Among the myriad functions of astrocytes, metabolic support holds significant relevance for neuronal function, given the high energy demand of the nervous system. Although astrocytes are typically considered to exhibit low mitochondrial respiratory chain activity, they possess a noteworthy mitochondrial network. Interestingly, both the morphology and activity of these organelles change following glial reactivity. Despite receiving less attention compared to studies on neuronal mitochondria, recent studies indicate that mitochondria play a crucial role in driving the transition of astrocytes from a quiescent to a reactive state in various neurological disorders. Notably, stimulating mitochondria in astrocytes has been shown to reduce damage associated with the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Here, we focus on studies supporting the emerging paradigm that metabolic reprogramming occurs in astrocytes following damage, which is associated with their phenotypic shift to a new functional state that significantly influences the progression of pathology. Thus, exploring mitochondrial activity and metabolic reprogramming within glial cells may provide valuable insights for developing innovative therapeutic approaches to mitigate neuronal damage. In this review, we focus on studies supporting the emerging paradigm that metabolic reprogramming occurs in astrocytes following damage, which is associated with their phenotypic shift to a new functional state that significantly influences the progression of pathology. Thus, exploring mitochondrial activity and metabolic reprogramming within glial cells may provide valuable insights for developing innovative therapeutic approaches to mitigate neuronal damage.

2025_Cassina_rev_Mitochondria and astrocyte reactivity-Key mechanism behind neuronal injury.pdf

Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of gravitational therapy in a cohort of patients with systemic sclerosis

Reumatol Clin 2024 Nov;20(9):463-469

Luisa Fernanda Servioli 1 , Eugenia Isasi 2 , Alejandra Pérez 3 , Silvia Pouquette 3 , María Eloísa Isasi 3

1 Unidad de Enfermedades Autoinmunes Sistémicas, Hospital Militar, Montevideo, Uruguay. Electronic address: lservioli01@gmail.com. 2 Unidad Académica de Histología y Embriología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay; Centro de Terapia Gravitacional, Montevideo, Uruguay. 3 Centro de Terapia Gravitacional, Montevideo, Uruguay.

DOI: 10.1016/j.reumae.2024.10.004
PMID: 39487058
Pubmed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39487058
Texto completo: http://www.elsevier.es/en/linksolver/pdf/pii/S2173-5743(24)00137-0

Abstract:
Background: The exposure to artificial gravity (AG) through human centrifugation is the basis of the treatment called gravity therapy (GT), in which the mechanical stimulation over the vessel wall, induces the synthesis and release of prostacyclin. It has been used for more than four decades in Uruguay in the treatment of different vascular-based pathologies. In patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) it has shown good benefits and excellent safety profile over the years. However, there is a lack of knowledge in the scientific community about GT and its results.

Cerebral White Matter Alterations Associated With Oligodendrocyte Vulnerability in Organic Acidurias: Insights in Glutaric Aciduria Type I

Neurotox Res 2024 Jul 4;42(4):33

Eugenia Isasi 1 2 , Moacir Wajner 3 4 , Juliana Avila Duarte 5 , Silvia Olivera-Bravo 6

1 Laboratorio de Neurobiología Celular y Molecular, Unidad Académica de Histología y Embriología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay. 2 Departamento de Neurobiología y Neuropatología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (IIBCE), Montevideo, Uruguay. 3 Department of Biochemistry, Instituto de Ciencias Básicas da Saude, Universidade Federal de Río Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. 4 Medical Genetics Service, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil. 5 Departamento de Medicina Interna, Serviço de Radiología, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil. 6 Departamento de Neurobiología y Neuropatología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (IIBCE), Montevideo, Uruguay. solivera@iibce.edu.uy.

DOI: 10.1007/s12640-024-00710-6
PMID: 38963434
Pubmed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38963434
Texto completo: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12640-024-00710-6

Abstract:
The white matter is an important constituent of the central nervous system, containing axons, oligodendrocytes, and its progenitor cells, astrocytes, and microglial cells. Oligodendrocytes are central for myelin synthesis, the insulating envelope that protects axons and allows normal neural conduction. Both, oligodendrocytes and myelin, are highly vulnerable to toxic factors in many neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders associated with disturbances of myelination. Here we review the main alterations in oligodendrocytes and myelin observed in some organic acidurias/acidemias, which correspond to inherited neurometabolic disorders biochemically characterized by accumulation of potentially neurotoxic organic acids and their derivatives. The yet incompletely understood mechanisms underlying the high vulnerability of OLs and/or myelin in glutaric acidemia type I, the most prototypical cerebral organic aciduria, are particularly discussed.