Insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) is implicated in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here we provide genetic evidence that Drosophila Ide (dIde) antagonizes the insulin signaling pathway and human Abeta-induced neurotoxicity in Drosophila. In this study, we also generated a dIde knockout mutant (dIde(KO)) by gene targeting, and found that loss of IDE increases the content of the major insect blood sugar, trehalose, thus suggesting a conserved role of IDE in sugar metabolism. Using dIde(KO) as a model, further investigations into the biological functions of IDE and its role in the pathogenesis of DM2 and AD can be made.
Copyright 2010 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.