Defensive behavior against noxious heat stimuli is declined with aging due to decreased pain-associated gene expression in Drosophila

1. Biomol Ther (Seoul). 2015 May;23(3):290-5. doi: 10.4062/biomolther.2014.147. Epub
2015 May 1.

Defensive Behavior against Noxious Heat Stimuli Is Declined with Aging Due to
Decreased Pain-Associated Gene Expression in Drosophila.

Ghimire S(1), Kim MS(1).

Author information:
(1)College of Pharmacy, Inje University, Gimhae 621-749, Republic of Korea.

Aging is defined as a collective process that alters organism’s functional
capacity and appearance over the course of life. Apart from an increase in
susceptibility to many diseases, aging affects the cellular system that is
responsible for decoding painful stimuli. Yet, aging-associated molecular
mechanisms of pain perception remains elusive. Using Drosophila, we showed a
decrease in temperature tolerance and a reduction in high temperature thermal
avoidance with aging. Locomotor activity assay demonstrated that the
age-dependent changes in heat nociception did not stem from the general decline
in muscular activity. However, we identified pain-related gene expression
alteration with aging. We anticipate that our findings would help opening a new
window onto developing the optimal pain treatment for the elderly.

DOI: 10.4062/biomolther.2014.147
PMCID: PMC4428723
PMID: 25995829

Auteurs Bordeaux Neurocampus