Abstract #2631

In Vivo High-Resolution Magic Angle Spinning Proton MR Spectroscopy of Drosophila Melanogaster Flies as a Model System to Investigate Obesity

Valeria Righi^1,2, Yiorgos Apidianakis³, Dionyssios Mintzopoulos^1,2, Loukas G. Astrakas,^1,4, Laurence G. Rahme³, A Aria Tzika^1,2

¹NMR Surgical Laboratory, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Shriners Burns Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; ²Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston, MA, United States; ³Molecular Surgery Laboratory, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Shriners Burns Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; ⁴Department of Medical Physics, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece

We demonstrate biomarker profiles with high-resolution magic angle spinning proton MR spectroscopy (HRMAS H1 MRS) of live Drosophila melanogaster flies. We show that the metabolic HRMAS MRS profiles of adipokinetic hormone receptor (akhrnull) mutant flies, which have an obesity phenotype, are different from isogenic control strain flies (akhrrev). Our approach advances the development of novel, in vivo, non-destructive research approaches in Drosophila, suggests biomarkers for investigation of biomedical paradigms, and thus may contribute to novel therapeutic development in obesity.