Bhadra, Joyita et al. (2021) International Worm Meeting "Exercise using an Acoustic Gym can rescue neuronal loss in worms"

Bhadra, Joyita, Sridhar, Nakul, Ding, Xiaoyun, Xue, Ding, Hammond, Nia

[International Worm Meeting, 2021]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neuronal disorder that affects the older population at a higher rate. PD is characterized by a loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra part of the brain. Currently there is no cure for PD. Regular long-term exercise has been proposed to be an attractive option in alleviating PD symptoms. However, the will and ability to exercise decreases significantly in the older population due to poor health and physical weakness. It is still challenging to identify beneficial exercise -related factors as a possible way of reducing neuronal loss in the aged brain. Here we introduce a microfluidic device integrated with Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) technology as a potential treatment to reduce DA neuronal loss in a Caenorhabditis elegans PD model. Loss of DA neurons can be partially suppressed in worms overexpressing human alpha-synuclein by SAW-induced swimming exercise in a controllable manner. We propose that this platform will help us identify potential drug targets of PD and compounds that can enhance the beneficial effects of exercise.