Maulik, Malabika et al. (2015) International Worm Meeting "Alaskan blueberry and Sirtuin 1-mediated neuroprotection in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of Parkinson's disease."

Maulik, Malabika, Taylor, Barbara E., Kuhn, Sally

[International Worm Meeting, 2015]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons and aggregation of alpha-synuclein (AS) protein leading to motor and cognitive impairment. The current study investigates the role of Alaskan bog blueberry (Vaccinum uliginosum), on alpha synuclein aggregation using a transgenic model of Caenorhabditis elegans expressing human alpha-synuclein [NL5901 (P(unc-54)::alpha-synuclein::YFP+unc-119)].The current study also examines the role of Sirtuin 1, a histone deacetylase, in reducing the toxicity of alpha-synuclein aggregates and whether this effect is mediated via expression of molecular chaperones, HSP1 and HSP70. The Alaskan bog blueberry was chosen for its high phenolic content, because phenolics have been shown to modulate sirtuin-mediated molecular pathways. Our experiments showed that the crude extract of low bog blueberry (400 and 800 ug/ml) reduced alpha-synuclein aggregation. For high-dose blueberry extract (800 ug/ml), the protection was mediated by sirtuin and HSF-1, which is independent of HSP 70. These findings encourage further studies on these Alaskan botanicals as possible therapeutic agents for Parkinson's disease, specifically of interest are the identification of active ingredients within the extracts and their optimal doses.

Maulik, Malabika et al. (2017) International Worm Meeting "Alaskan Blueberry attenuates alpha-synuclein over expression and improves movement in Parkinson's like model of Caenorhabditis elegans."

Mitra, Swarup, Maulik, Malabika, Taylor, Barbara, Vayndorf, Elena, Hunter, Skyler, Bult-Ito, Abel

[International Worm Meeting, 2017]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons and aggregation of alpha-synuclein (AS) protein leading to motor and cognitive impairment. The current study investigates the role of Alaskan bog blueberry (Vaccinum uliginosum), on alpha synuclein aggregation using a transgenic model of Caenorhabditis elegans expressing human alpha-synuclein [OW13 (P(unc-54)::alpha-synuclein::YFP+unc-119)].The current study also examines the role of Sirtuin 1, a histone deacetylase, in reducing the toxicity of alpha-synuclein aggregates and whether this effect is mediated via expression of other downstream molecular targets. The Alaskan bog blueberry was chosen for its high phenolic content, because phenolics have been shown to modulate sirtuin-mediated molecular pathways. Our experiments showed that the crude extract of low bog blueberry ( 100 and 400 ug/ml) reduced alpha-synuclein aggregation and improved motility in the worm model. The study also highlights the molecular mechanism through which the botanicals are exerting this beneficial effect. These findings encourage further studies on these Alaskan botanicals as possible therapeutic agents for Parkinson's disease, specifically of interest are the identification of active ingredients within the extracts and their optimal doses.