Electric-field induced sleep promotion and lifespan extension in Gaucher's disease model flies: Association with improving ER stress and autophagy

Gauchers disease (GD), one kind of genetic disease, is characterized by a mutation in metabolic enzyme, glucocerebrosidase (GBA), leading to accumulation of its substrate, glucosylceramide in tissues. We previously discovered that the minos-inserted mutation of the GBA gene in fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, reproduced human GD characteristics and can be used as a promising model for molecular mechanisms study. Recently, we reported that extremely low-frequency electric fields (ELF-EFs) promoted sleep and extended the lifespan of normal flies. In this study, GD model flies were exposed to ELF-EFs, and sleep parameters, gene expressions, and longevity were evaluated. The amount of sleep and lifespan increased after EF exposure. Simultaneously, the expression of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-related gene, PERK and the autophagy-related gene, p62 was elevated. The data suggest that the healthy effects of EFs on GD flies are associated with improved adaptation to cellular stress.