Analyzing cachectic phenotypes in the muscle and fat body of Drosophila larvae

Callum Dark; Shane Cheung; Louise Y Cheng

doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101230

Analyzing cachectic phenotypes in the muscle and fat body of Drosophila larvae

STAR Protoc. 2022 Mar 9;3(1):101230. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101230. eCollection 2022 Mar 18.

Authors

Callum Dark^{1

2}, Shane Cheung³, Louise Y Cheng^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.
² Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia.
³ Biological Optical Microscopy Platform, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia.
⁴ Department of Anatomy and Physiology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia.

Abstract

Drosophila has become a popular model for examining the metabolic wasting syndrome, cachexia, characterized by degradation of muscles and fat. Here we present a protocol for quick and consistent scoring of muscle detachment, fat body lipid droplet size, and extracellular matrix (ECM) quantifications in Drosophila larvae. We detail the procedures for dissecting, staining, and imaging third instar Drosophila larval muscle fillets and fat body, and how to utilize FIJI macros for robust quantification of cachectic phenotypes in these dissected tissues. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Lodge et al. (2021).

Keywords: Developmental biology; Metabolism; Model Organisms.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Cachexia* / metabolism
Drosophila*
Fat Body / metabolism
Larva / metabolism
Muscles / metabolism
Phenotype