AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ANTICONVUSLANT PROPERTIES OF LONG POLY UNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS FOR DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER SEIZURE

Almost 50 million worldwide suffer from epilepsy. Epilepsy is characterized by recurrent seizures which are defined by abnormal electrical firing in the nervous system that can cause muscle spasms, paralysis, and convulsions. Recent literature suggests that long polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as arachidonic acid (AA) are anticonvulsant (reduce seizure behavior) across species, including Drosophila melanogaster. Parabss1 flies contain a gain of function mutation in their voltage-gated sodium channels and mimic intractable epileptic patients. Seizures can be induced in parabss1 flies with mechanical stimulation and seizure recovery times can be recorded for statistical analysis. We confirmed that AA is anticonvulsant. We also found that fish oil and its long PUFA components are anticonvulsant. Furthermore, PXT (a hypothesized cyclooxygenase-like enzyme that metabolizes AA) knockdown in the nervous system of parabss1 males is proconvulsant. Due to PXT’s potential connection to epilepsy, we also aimed to characterize the in vitro enzymatic activity of PXT. We expressed and purified PXT from BL21(DE3) E. coli cells. We performed enzymatic activity assays using a 2,2'-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay and a dissolved oxygen detector. We found that PXT has weak peroxidase activity and that it is likely contaminated with E. coli catalase.<p></p>